


Echoes

by Erberor



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: HeartGold & SoulSilver | Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver Versions
Genre: Gen, Nuzlocke Challenge, Sacred Gold
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-03
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 12:21:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 33,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7801687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erberor/pseuds/Erberor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young man wakes up, alone, to find a world shaken by disaster, with only echoes of memories to guide him. He finds companions who he knows but cannot recall, and together they set out to put together the pieces of both the shattered world and the echoes of their past.</p><p>Out of echoes, we find ourselves, we find our past, we find our future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Waking

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to Echoes, A nuzlocke story I started as a fun little project that slowly took over my life.
> 
> The game this will all be based upon is Sacred Gold, a fantastic hack of Heart Gold made by Drayano. It does some cool things like massively increasing pokemon variety, smoothing out the level curve, increasing the difficulty and also giving some much appreciated stat buffs and moveset changes to a bunch of Pokemon. It's pretty cool, you should go check it out.
> 
> Here are listed the rules of the run!  
> -Only catch the first Pokemon encountered in each route/area  
> -Fainted Pokemon are dead forever  
> -Nickname all Pokemon caught  
> -No dupes  
> -At no point may legendary Pokemon be used in battle for any reason  
> -Set battle mode  
> -If a shiny shows up I will catch it.
> 
> Pokemon caught that do not take part in battle or die particularly quickly will not be mentioned in the story
> 
> Without further ado, let's get things rolling.

He woke in the shadow of an old oak tree, gasping for breath. Something was wrong. Something inside him. Out of place, missing, broken, scattered, blocked, SOMETHING, but the panic grasping his mind would not let him see it. He slowed his breathing, and soon the problem became quite clear.

He could not remember. Echoes of his forgotten memory bounced about in his mind, but there was nothing substantial, nothing he could grab on to, save for one word: Orthos. His name. He clung to that name desperately, as it was the only thing he had. For some time. He sat, letting the panic fade from him, as he came to accept his predicament. However, as the panic faded, it was replaced with a growing sense of curiosity and excitement. With the triviality of panic out of the way, Orthos got up. Eager to explore and discover, he set into the woods.

And was promptly attacked. A large rodent leapt out of the shadows and clamped its astonishingly powerful jaw on Orthos’ leg. Its massive teeth easily pierced both his worn pants and his skin beneath, causing him to shout in pain. He did not try to shake it off, but rather knelt down, seized the creature and forcefully wrenched open its jaws. He then threw it against a tree before it bit his hand and took off running. As he did, he encountered more and more creatures, many of which tried to attack him. Though he may have lost his memory, Orthos knew that animals should not be so aggressive. He kept running, not sure of how he would escape the forest.

As he ran, he caught sight of something. A group of the creatures, all gathered around something. He barely paid attention to them, however, as the cries of pain coming from within the circle concerned him more. He rushed through, bellowing and swinging his arms. The creatures that did not immediately scatter were met with Orthos’ wrathful feet and scurried off, bruised and humbled. Kneeling down, he got a good look at the creature he’d saved. It was a small, blue lizard, with a powerful jaw and wide eyes. As he continued to look at it, Orthos started to feel something. Somehow, this creature seemed familiar. As though he had known it before. A name coalesced out of the echoes in his mind.

“Renthar.” He said, saying the name with both the confidence of knowing it was right, and the doubt of not knowing why. Renthar looked up at him, confused, but comfortable in Orthos’ protection. Orthos bandaged him as best he could, tearing strips from his shirt to bind the wounds. The feeling of familiarity remained, but, seeing as he could not place it

With Renthar cradled in his arm, Orthos started walking through the woods again, his sprint quickly catching up with him, leaving him sore, hungry and woefully thirsty. “I don’t suppose you know where we could find some water, Renthar?” 

Renthar looked at him, grinned, and blasted a burst of water at Orthos’ face. “What the?!” Orthos spouted in surprise. “Where the heck did that come from? You’re two feet tall!” Renthar responded by squirting more water. “Well, questions about where on earth all that water is coming from can wait. At least we have water...so, how about we get ourselves out of this forest?”

 

They wandered the woods until sundown, doing what they could to avoid the assailing wildlife. Orthos refused to sleep, only allowing himself to rest for a while so they could continue on in the morning. And when morning came, they departed once again. Renthar leading the way.

Another day passed. No food, little rest, always in danger. The wound on his left leg hurt, but Orthos ignored it. He had to focus on getting out of the woods. Several hours into their third day, he finally found something.

"Wait...I think I see something up ahead." Orthos said, stopping Renthar. Just up ahead, he saw a break in the foliage. As he had hoped, it was a trail , one made by humans. Excitedly, he went down the narrow trail, heading downhill. He hoped they could just find someone...someone with food.

 

Crystal sat at the makeshift gates of New Bark town, her Marril, Holly, quite possibly keeping a better watch than she was. She knew she was the only person in town who had Pokemon left, but...her mind kept drifting back to times when they didn't need the patchwork wall of wooden stakes, when there was no need for a watch. When she could go out with Holly and play with the Pokemon outside town instead of having to fend them off. 

A few rattatas and poochyena were chased off by Holly without her even noticing. She was just starting to mutter about how nothing was going to change when a ragged looking boy carrying a tododile burst out of the woods, slightly limping. His clothing was torn, his entire body covered in dirt, and his left foot was soaked in dried blood. He looked at her, and a huge smile of relief came over him.

"Oh, thank heavens! Another human being!" He declared rather loudly. "I was starting to think I might just starve!" He walked closer, the limp somewhat less noticeable as he proudly strode.

"Wha-?" Crystal stammered, "uh, who are you? Where are you from?" She got on the defensive. It wouldn't have been the first time thieves had tried to get the better of her. Holly looked about as intense as she could…which was hardly overwhelming.

"Well, those are very good questions I myself would love to know the answers to, and I have many more beside them. Unfortunately, I cannot offer you much more than my name, as...I appear to have forgotten everything else. I'm Orthos." Renthar whined at him. "And this here is Renthar. We met in the woods."

"Wait...he was wild? How on Earth did you get him so docile?" Crystal asked. Wild Pokemon those days were not only feral but almost malevolent, to the point where they could no longer be safely captured.

"Um, he was pretty calm when I met him yesterday. He was caught in the middle of a bunch of nasties, and I chased them off. Bandaged him up and we've been best of pals ever since." Orthos explained, showing her the bandages. 

Crystal looked at him. "So you bandaged your Pokemon but not yourself?" She remarked, looking at the blood crusted on his left foot.

Orthos blinked, somewhat deadeyed. He looked down at his leg, then back up to Crystal. "This is almost certainly going to be the stupidest question you've ever heard, but what's a Pokemon?"

 

"Fascinating...I suppose that might explain a few things, though it certainly does raise a few more questions."

Crystal sighed. She let a growlithe out of a pokeball and pet it as she spoke. "Sam, I need you to help Holly keep watch, alright?" Sam barked happily. "Alright, Orthos, how about we get you and Renthar cleaned up before we get into how the world is falling apart."

“I don’t suppose you could offer some food? And maybe a bed? I haven’t exactly eaten or slept since I woke up.”

…he did look a bit tired.

 

Some time later, Orthos and Renthar were eating a hearty meal prepared by crystal's mother as she explained what had happened to the world.  
"Pokemon used to be different. They were friendlier and...well, smarter. Most all of them could talk, even! Then, about a year ago, a gradual decline began. We call it the Frenzy. Pokemon started getting more aggressive, and...forgetting how to speak." She looked like she was about to cry, but Orthos said nothing. She took a few deep breathes and continued.

"Now all the wild Pokemon are feral and ravenous, attacking anyone on sight. And...even Pokemon who have trainers sometimes slip into the Frenzy. We've been forced to cut ourselves off completely. Professor Elm has been working with some other big smart guys to do something about all this, but...they're a bit stonewalled because I'm the only person with any Pokemon, and I can't leave or the town would be defenseless."

Orthos put on a confident smile and adjusted his new shirt, a courtesy of his host "Well, it seems you're in need of someone to assist you!"

"Orthos, you just got here, we couldn't ask you-"

"You don't have to, because I'm neither requesting permission nor offering my assistance." Orthos stood, filled with stubborn determination. "I’m taking action. Now, where's this professor?"

 

The door to the lab blasted open, accompanied by Orthos' loud, bombatious voice. "Well, professor, I heard you were in need of assistance!"

"Gah!" Elm started, nearly dropping what he was working on. He turned, seeing Orthos with his massive grin, Renthar at his feet. The two looked like brothers for how similarly they behaved.

"Uh, who are you?" Elm stammered.

"The name's Orthos, and this little piece of adorable fury is Renthar!" Renthar tried his best to look intimidating, succeeding in looking, at the very least, mildly threatening. But mostly endearing.

Crystal suddenly showed up behind them. "It's alright, Elm, I told them about your research and they were out the door before I could say anything."

"W-well, you are correct...I am in need of assistance." Elm said, relieved that Orthos was not an intruder. He turned to a table covered in pages of notes and schematics. "Crystal probably told you that I'm developing countermeasures to the Frenzy. The main plans have been ready for some time now, but I lack the expertise to manufacture much of the equipment. Thus, I have reached out to Professor Oak, who should currently be with 'Mr Pokemon'."

"Who's this 'Mr Pokemon'? He doesn’t sound all that trustworthy…”

"He's our benefactor. Somehow he's managed to pull together the resources needed to make this happen. All we need to do now is get Oak here so we can make all this happen."

"So, you need someone to head over there and escort Oak back here, then? Done. Where can I find him?"

"Oh! Well, he's up on route-"

"HOLD IT." Crystal interrupted. "This might not be immediately clear, but this guy woke up two days ago with amnesia! He doesn't even know what a Pokemon is!"

"Didn't know. You explained it to me." Orthos declared with the utmost confidence.

"Yes, but still! He doesn't have a clue-"

"Crystal." Elm stopped her calmly. "When are we going to get another chance like this?"

"I-but-"

"You know better than anyone how bad things are. Let's send him,"

"That's what I like to hear!" Orthos declared. “Now, how about we go get some sleep because I think I might just keel over from exhaustion any second now.”

\---

The next day, after plenty of training with Renthar, and a hearty night’s sleep, Orthos set out of New Bark town. With a bag of potions, a set of pokegear, and massively inordinate amounts of bravado, he and Renthar were ready.

They made it to Cherrygrove without incident, just before nightfall. Exhausted from walking and from battle, they were relieved to see the barricade at the edge of town. Somewhat surprisingly, though, there was nobody watching it. Orthos pried a few planks off the wall and squeezed through. 

The town looked deserted. No lights, no people, no guards...it was a bit concerning. Orthos wandered about, chasing off a few stray Pokemon that had gotten through the barricade. Just as he was about to move on, a door opened behind him. He turned to see an excited looking old man.

"You don't look like a scavenger, son. Where are you from?" He asked.

Orthos smiled and took a deep bow. "Good sir, I am Orthos, hailing from nowhere and coming from New Bark. I am here at the behest of the good Professor Elm to find the mysterious, illusive ‘Mr. Pokemon’. The proud warrior beside me is Renthar. It is our pleasure to assist you."

"Well, that could be the house up North...never really heard much from whoever lived up there. Well, you've cleared out those wilds, so we might just have a few hours of quiet." The old man smiled and shouted "HEY ALL, IT’S CLEAR!"

A few lights turned on, and some people started trickling out of buildings. "This boy just cleared out the town!" The man declared happily.

Suffice it to say that, though grateful, the other residents did not share the old man's enthusiasm. Not one to be dragged down by anything, the elderly man showed Orthos around the small town. The old pokemon center, a store turned supply shed, the ocean shore, and his house, where he offered Orthos a place to stay.

The next morning, before Orthos left, the old man gave him an old fishing rod. “Maybe you’ll find a use for it.” He said.

"Thanks. It's nice to see there's still some life amidst all this." Orthos said as he took the rod. 

"Boy, you’re more full a life than anybody I’ve seen in years. I’m just glad to see a friendly face for once. This town could use some hope…without a Pokemon to fend off the wilds, we're defenseless. And soon enough we'll run out of power. The generator's been getting more and more fussy. Anyway, I wish you luck."

"Hey, now, I can't just head off without knowing your name!"

"Ha! You're quite a find, Orthos. I'm Gerard."

With that, Orthos departed Northward.


	2. Ambition

The path to Mr Pokemon's house was tedious. Every few feet they'd run into another hostile pokemon, and the multitude of bugs kept making things more complicated with their poison. Eventually, though, Orthos arrived at a small house nestled in the woods. Outside stood a tall, blonde woman who appeared quite capable of defending herself.

"Hoy!" Orthos called as he waded out of the undergrowth. "This wouldn't happen to be the house of Mr. Pokemon, would it?" Renthar waved from atop Orthos’ head.

The woman looked up, studying Orthos and Renthar. After a moment, she smiled. "It is. Who are you to be looking for him?"

"I am Orthos, and this here is Renthar. We're here on behalf of the illustrious Professor Elm to find Professor Oak."

"Well, don't let me stop you. In fact, why don't I lend you some help?" She pulled out a pokeball and tossed it to Orthos. "That's an Eevee. You look like just the kind of person to use his potential to the fullest."

"Thank you. Does he have a name?" 

"Thomas. Take care of him, would you? He'd only be in danger where I'm headed…but judging by the fire in your eyes, your future is bound to be just as hazardous. " She turned to leave. "My name is Cynthia, by the way. I'll keep an eye out for you."

As she went into the forest, Orthos said goodbye and entered the house. It was simple and rather clean, save for the ludicrous number of computers and books spread across every horizontal surface of the space. A short man with sunglasses and an extremely classy hat was speaking with an older man wearing a labcoat about something. Orthos cleared his throat.

"Hmm? Who are you?" The short man asked.

"Professor Elm sent me..." Orthos explained his mission, and in short order they were gathering all manner of supplies and packing up for the road. Before they left, Mr Pokemon handed Orthos an egg, white with colorful patterns.

"It might not seem like much in comparison to our work countering the frenzy, but I believe this egg is still worth some study." He said. "After all, we can't forget the everyday wonders in the midst of a crisis, or else we might just risk losing ourselves in the chaos. Safe travels."

\---

"So, Professor, I imagine you have a pretty good idea of what's causing this, right?" Orthos said as they waded through the bushes on route 30.

"Yes, but it's a bit complicated. Probably more so than you'd like to hear." Oak responded.

"Well, if I'm going to be stopping it, than it only makes sense to understand the issue." Orthos said with a daring look in his eyes.

"Well, I suppose that's true-" the old professor stopped. "Wait, stop it? You stop it? Well...you've got ambition, if nothing else. Well, it couldn't hurt...

So, the cause of all this is a sort of broadcast, like from a radio, but it's affecting Pokemon's brains. As near as we can tell, it affects their higher thought processes and amplifies aggression. Though I suppose that was obvious.

We've been able to figure out a few means of countering the frenzy, as most have taken to calling it. We've had difficulty finding ways to test it all, however. We're working on a lot of theory."

Thomas knocked out several hostiles as they spoke. "Any idea how this all started in the first place? It doesn't exactly sound natural." Orthos said.

"Unfortunately, no. The most we've been able to tell is that the signal appears to be coming from somewhere to the West."

"Well, I suppose time will reveal all things, won't it? Well, we’ll be in Cherrygrove before long. With luck, we’ll make it to New Bark before nightfall.”

\---

Some time later, they arrive at Cherrygrove. Eager to rest after lugging so much material, Orthos expected a warm welcome, but was met with an empty town yet again. Though not entirely empty - A red haired boy, standing just inside the barricade. What was left of it, at any rate.

The barrier lay in ruin, torn to pieces, leaving the town even more defenseless. There was an air of hostility about the place that put everyone on edge.

"Who are you?" Orthos asked, nearly a demand for how harshly he threw his words.

"If you have half a mind you'll leave well enough alone." The stranger said coldly, walking slowly toward the North exit.

"Oh, no, you don't just walk away. Not unless you explain what happened to the barricade."

"If you wish to stop me, show me that you have the guts to do it." The boy tossed a pokeball in the air, releasing a chikorita.

"Thomas, show him how we treat vandals." Orthos commanded, anger in his voice. "Careful, we don't know how strong he is."

The Chikorita leapt forward, but Thomas was faster. He darted around his foe, demonstrating everything he had learned from his battles in the woods of route 32. The skill gap was clear; the Chikorita had no experience fighting, making what little Thomas had a vast advantage.

The battle was over in short order, and the trainer withdrew his pokemon. From behind Orthos. Orthos turned, nearly throwing Renthar off his shoulder, seeing the red haired boy running off. Orthos jumped after him, managing to catch up and grab his coat. He pulled him down and tried to pin his smaller foe, but after a moment of struggle, the boy managed to get hold of a knife from his belt. Orthos backed off, hands raised.

"Funny how you rely so much on your Pokemon that you forget that people can be dangerous too." The boy said as he stood. "I don't want any more trouble, so I'll just be heading off. Don’t follow me."

Orthos said nothing and watched as the boys red hair faded into the growing shadows.

Oak walked up to him. "That was certainly something. Haven't seen a fight like that in years!"

"Well, with any luck it won't be the last time. I got a hold of this." Orthos revealed a plastic card with the Kanto Pokemon league's logo emblazoned on it, along with the red haired boy's photo and name. "Looks like his name's Silver. Personally I feel like 'Red' might have fit him better, I mean, that hair of his was blood red. Anyway, we should get to New Bark, it'll be dark before too long." He looked back at the ruined barricade. Without the wall…"Ah, Hellfire. Hey! Anybody awake?" He called out.

A few of the townsfolk emerged from their houses. "Orthos!" Gerard shouted. "Yer back!"

"Yes, and I couldn't help but notice your wall is busted." Orthos said. He called Thomas over. "I'll be back to help fix the wall, but I have to get going to New Bark. So, I'm leaving Thomas here with you to keep the town safe."

Thomas flashed Orthos a confused face, but a bit of reassuring and he was alright. "Gerard, I'm putting you in charge of him. I should be back tomorrow, so until then, farewell!” Orthos punctuated his goodbye with a theatrical bow. Renthar waved goodbye and they were off

 

Crystal was beyond relieved to see Orthos emerging from the woods. As always, he had an unconquerable air of optimism about him, and a huge grin on his face. They wasted little time with pleasantries and brought the supplies to Elm's lab, where the two professors began working.

Orthos joined Crystal at the gates, where Renthar promptly began playing about with Holly, spraying water and running about. 

"You know, Orthos, there's something about you..." Crystal started, searching for words.

"I pride myself on my somethings. They are, quite simply, the spice of life." Orthos interrupted.

Crystal chuckled. "That's kind of what I'm talking about, I guess. You're the only person I've met who's still making jokes and wearing a smile."

"What can I say? I have no memory beyond waking up a few days ago, and the intervening time has been an absolute adventure. Everything's fresh and new, waiting to be discovered!" Orthos stood and threw his arms up for effect. "I've met good friends and gotten to explore a land I know nothing about! I've been able to help people, and that's exactly what I'm going to be doing going forward! I could not be happier!"

Renthar and Holly stopped playing and looked up at Orthos. Renthar smiled and leapt onto Orthos, climbing onto his head in spite of his protests.

Crystal felt something, two things, that she hadn't in a long time. 

Joy, and hope.

\-----

Several days later, the professors were ready to show their work. They gathered everyone together and layed out an array of objects both foreign and familiar. "Well, everyone, we've finally finished the first wave of, er, countermeasures to the frenzy. Hopefully, with these, we should be able to fight back just a little." Oak declared.

"We're still working on a full on 'cure', but, well, it's going to take a long time for us to get anywhere with that. So, let me explain what all we've made..." Elm began explaining the various objects.

First was a large container filled with small silver disks. The disks were to be fastened to pokeballs, and would prevent the frenzy from affecting Pokemon in them. Next, they had a small antenna, designed to temporarily suppress the frenzy. "Seeing as the frenzy prevents catching Pokemon, we've put a lot of work into figuring out a way to catch new Pokemon. This device is capable of suppressing the Frenzy in an area for a short time...once. After it's been used, the suppression will not work on affected Pokemon ever again. So we only have one shot."

Then they had a pokegear upgrade to allow the phones to work in spite of the frenzy signal overpowering most communication lines. And finally, they had a device that would hopefully lead to the source of the signal.

"It's not much. It's really not much at all. But with this, we might just be able to do something."

"You know, professor. You keep saying 'we', but I'm pretty sure I've made it clear that I'll be the one leaving town to go save Jahro." Orthos said, stepping forward confidently. 

"Johto. It's Johto, Orthos." Crystal corrected.

"Sorry, Johto. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to hog all the glory...it's just that you've all been through enough already. I just got here. I think you all could go without the dangers of travel on top of everything you've been through." Orthos spoke with compassion. There was not a doubt in the world that that boy who had shown up no more than a week before cared deeply about the townspeople. There were no objections.

Having done nothing less than promising to save the world, Orthos strode forward and accepted the hope of everyone in town, and everyone in the entire region.

There were many thoughts running through Orthos' mind as he took the inventions. One thing stood out above the rest, though:

This was going to make for one hell of a story.b

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Orthos is probably a little too heroic for his own good. And that optimism might just be unhealthy. I have to say, though, getting an eevee that early was a bit surprising. Definitely gives me a lot of flexibility going forward, which is awesome.


	3. Companions

Orthos ran out to route 29 full of excitement. Much of New Bark had come to see the first test of the suppressor, and everyone seemed to be interested, if not caught up in the wake of Orthos' limitless enthusiasm.

“Orthos, you don’t know how to catch Pokemon, do you?” Crystal said, somewhat surprised Orthos hadn’t asked about it thus far.

“Oh, no. In fact, you should probably tell me how exactly that works. Might be helpful.”

Crystal gave him a fowl look. “You didn’t think that might be important to bring up before now? When the entire town is waiting for you to catch a pokemon?”

“Well, you’ve demonstrated a pretty impressive ability to instill me with basic knowledge, so please enlighten me, oh wise teacher!”

"Right. well, you start by weakening the Pokemon..."

* * *

 

Orthos faced his meager audience and addressed them as though they were an adoring crowd. “Alright then, we are ready to begin! Good people of New Bark, you are about to witness the tools by which I, Orthos, will wrest this fair land from the throes of chaos and bring forth peace and order! Renthar, if you would do the honors of scouting out our first companion to join us for our heroic journey?” Renthar nodded vigorously and dashed into the undergrowth. “When Renthar has successfully subdued our prospective companion, I will activate the suppressor, made, as you all know, by the illustrious Professors – Ah! Here comes Renthar now!” Renthar ran out of the bushes, grasping a struggling starly between his claws. Orthos turned to look at it, and was about to launch into another speech, but a throbbing pain in his head made him stagger backward, striking the moment he met the eyes of the starly

“GAH!” he cried, grasping his head in his hands as his head throbbed. However, his brain was far from idle. Faint images poured into his mind, moving far too quickly to be recognized in any way. Out of the rolling waves of his mind formed a word. A name. Lyn.

“Orthos, what’s wrong? Activate the suppressor!” Oak cried.

Orthos shook his head, the headache beginning to subside. Dazed, he went over to the device and pressed the switch that activated the pulse. A wave of…something passed through the area, not affecting anyone but nonetheless leaving a shadow in its wake. The starly stopped struggling, signaling the opportunity to catch it.

Orthos threw the ball, and held it in the air for all to see, doing all he could to keep his balance after that reeling headache. “And there…you have it…it works just as…intended” Orthos was breathing heavily, gasping for air.

The townsfolk were rather happy, the demonstration giving them a measure of hope. They quickly dispersed, leaving Orthos, The professors, and Crystal. Renthar had gone off to play with Holly again.

“It’s good to see that everything is working as we had hoped.” Elm said, looking at the suppressor. “honestly, when you’re working with schematics and calculations for months, you start to lose hope of ever seeing your work in action.”

“Orthos, what happened?” Oak asked with a concerned, curious expression.

“Well, uh, when I looked at it…her…I got this massive headache. It felt like nails were being driven into my skull. No, not like that…more like my mind was tearing itself apart. I saw images flash by faster than I could process, along with sounds and smells…I just have no idea what to make of it. It’s like having déjà vu, but worse on an entirely different level. I did, however, find a name in the flashing…memories…”

“Wait, memories? You’re remembering something?” Crystal asked in surprise.

“Not really. Just a name, Lyn, and a few feelings. Joy, peacefulness, the feeling of the wind blowing over you…beyond that, I have nothing.”

“Lyn? Is that her name then?”

“Let’s find out, shall we?” Orthos released the starly, who looked dazed, as though waking up from a long nap. “She looks a lot more peaceful. Hey, you awake? I’m Orthos. Are you Lyn?”

The starly perked up and chirped a lively, happy tune, flapping up onto Orthos’ shoulder. She kept singing as she fluffed up her feathers, nuzzling Orthos’ face. “I suppose that’s a yes? She seems awfully friendly, doesn’t she? Well, I suppose that if that’s everything, I should be going. You got that map card fixed up for me, Professor Elm?”

“Yes. I’ve gone and mapped out the optimum location to use the pulse. Hopefully it should help maximize how many pokemon you can catch.” Elm handed Orthos the updated map card. “Remember, give every trainer you can find some of those pokeball attachments, alright? If you run out, call us and we’ll see what we can figure out.”

“Got it. Anybody else got something to say before I leave?”

“Orthos. Be careful. It’s dangerous out there. This isn’t a game, you know that?” Crystal told him sternly.

Orthos replied with surprising conviction, in a serious tone. “I know. I’ll be careful, I promise.”

With that, he departed. After a few hours of walking and taking a detour North to Route 42, Orthos set up the suppressor once more upon arriving at the marker on his map. He didn’t have to wait long to find a pokemon to capture, as an angry feline jumped him while he was setting up the Suppressor.

Mewling fiercely, the shinx bit and clawed him with all its might. Orthos quickly threw off his attacker and called for Renthar to pin it down while he fired the suppression pulse. In short order, they had captured the shinx and Orthos was thinking about what to name the aggressive pokemon. Unsure of what to call her, he released her from the ball to try running some names by her.

She hissed at him immediately, defensive for some reason. Though she was clearly free of the frenzy, she was still being very defensive. As Orthos looked at her, growling and baring her fangs, he felt a growing feeling of familiarity, much as he had with Renthar. Again, a name began to form out of the shadows of his forgotten memories. Riara.

“Riara…that your name?” He said, sitting down and trying not to look threatening. “That’s your name, isn’t it? I suppose it’s probably rather wise not to trust me. I mean, you hardly have any reason to, really. But I’m willing to try to earn that trust.”

Orthos reached into his pack and pulled out some food. He placed on the ground in front of him and just waited. After a few moments, Riara cautiously stepped forward. Orthos did not move, just sitting calmly. After several minutes of waiting, she finally ate the food. Orthos smiled, and reached out his hand, palm up. At first, Riara backed away, hissing. But, soon enough, she approached once, more, placing her paw in Orthos’ hand.

A bond of trust began to form.

Orthos reached the gate he had helped the Cherrygrove townsfolk build while Elm and Oak worked some ten hours after leaving New Bark. He had taken a couple hours to get Riara to trust him enough to come with him willingly. Inside the gates he saw people walking about and working on one thing or another, a welcome sight after having seen the town almost abandoned. Gerard approached him and gave him a hearty handshake. "Well, to what do we owe the honor, Orthos?" He asked.

"Well, I'm heading out to do what good I can. It's a big world, and it's a little broken, so I'm sure to find somebody who needs a hand."

"Ah, well, I suppose you'll be wanting to take Tommy with you." Gerard said, his usual energy somewhat faded. "The new wall is in better shape...I guess it'll have to do..."

Orthos frowned. He looked at Thomas, who seemed rather happy in the loving care of Gerard. The words of Cynthia came to him. "Your future is bound to be just as hazardous". With a sigh, he knew what he needed to do.

"No, I think he's better off here, really. Better to have the affection of a whole town than mine," Orthos declared, "and I think you need him more than I do, really.”

Orthos stayed the night at Gerard’s, taking the time to say goodbye to Thomas. It would, without doubt, be a long time before he saw him again.

\---

"Dark cave, eh?" Orthos read the sign in front of the dark tunnel entrance. "Seems like most caves would be dark by nature, honestly. But hey, who am I to judge? Or pass up exploring a probably dangerous cave! Come on, Renthar!" He charged into the cave, plunging into the darkness.

"Well, can you see anything?" He asked

<font color=#NUMBER>"Rawr." Renthar replied.

"Me neither...maybe if we give our eyes some time to adjust..." Unfortunately, no amount of adjustment could change the abject darkness of the cave. So, Orthos turned to his hearing. He could hear the sounds of Pokemon moving in the darkness, flapping wings, footsteps, and other such noises.

He stepped in a little further, hoping to maybe find a new companion. Out of a shadow stepped a small, green Pokemon whose shell looked hard as stone. As soon as Orthos met its glare, he was hit with a colossal blast of a migraine. His head seared with pain, throwing him to his knees.

Echoes of memories flashed through his mind, far too quickly to so much as be recognized as individual events. Everything was much as with his encounter with Lyn, but on a far greater level. A name formed out of the echoes like a branding iron onto his brain, engraving the name he already knew onto his consciousness. Kiran. He knew him somehow, but the echoes could not be grasped, the memories far beyond his reach.

Slowly, the migraine faded. The Pokemon, which his pokedex identified as a larvitar, would appear to have been struck with the same headache that Orthos had, but seemed to be taking it better. Renthar was vigorously trying to get Orthos back to his senses, dousing his face with water.

"Gah! I'm fine, Renthar, I'm fine! Just...distract him while I get the suppressor up!"

Renthar went to engage the larvitar, growling fiercely, but it did not so much as move. It just stared at him with the stern intensity of a warrior. Renthar cringed. Suddenly, it loosed a ferocious, ear splitting roar. Orthos and Renthar covered their ears, but the howl still shook them to their cores. Then, the brawl began.

As Orthos fumbled to activate the suppression pulse, Renthar battled with the larvitar, but were it not for its massive aversion to water, it would have won easily. Its superior strength, armor and weight gave it the clear advantage.

Renthar kept it at bay with light blasts of water, which bought Orthos the time to activate the pulse and attempt capture. Several attempts later, the larvitar finally yielded.

"You gave us some trouble there...Kiran." Orthos said as he picked up the pokeball. "More than anyone else, I know that's your name...but why? I feel as though I should remember you…but there’s still nothing."

"Rawr?" Renthar looked at him questioningly.

"Alright, let's get out of this cave, Renthar. Azalea should be just west of here. After that, we could use a break."

They walked the short way to Azalea in short order. Unlike Cherrygrove, the town was rather well defended. A pair of guards, accompanied by a few pidgeys, a spearow and a tailow, were on watch.

"Hoy there!" Orthos called as he approached. "You fellows certainly look prepared for just about anything!"

The guards looked at the loud, friendly stranger. "Who are you?" One of them called.

"Good sir and madam, you may call me Orthos." He took a deep bow, throwing Renthar from his head. The displaced tododile promptly sprayed a burst of water at Orthos' face, which he ignored.

"And the feisty little chum is Renthar. We're here to stop the frenzy, save the land and forever immortalize ourselves in story and song!"

The curious glances the guards were giving Orthos turned to open bewilderment. The heroic pose Orthos and Renthar were throwing wasn't exactly helping them seem sane.

"Right." The other guard spouted. "Why don't you just head on back to where you came and start by fixing that head of yours."

"Oh, come on, Tom, delusional though he may be, he does want to help out."

"We can't just let in every starry eyed idiot who stumbles-"

"I'm opening the gates and there is nothing you can do about it."

"Sara, are you listening to me at all?"

"Nope."

The gate was opened, and Sara did indeed manage to convince Tom to let Orthos through. "Welcome to Azalea. Don't cause trouble and Falkner won't chase you out of town." She said as Orthos passed.

"Who's Falkner?"

She looked a little surprised at the question. "He's the gym leader. He's been coordinating the defense and management of the town since this all started."

Orthos smiled. "Sounds like exactly the man I want to see. Where is he?"

"Generally, in the gym. Though it might be slightly more likely for him to be up in sprout tower for the upteenth time."

"Thanks, for the info and for convincing your friend to let me in. So long!"

Orthos walked into the town and marveled at how different it was from Cherrygrove and New Bark. Both those places were barely existing, with Cherrygrove practically in danger of being wiped off the map. Here, though, it looked like a rather healthy town. There were people walking about, talking, working and even children playing. There was life in the air, and Orthos could not get enough of it. Even still, the dilapidated state of the town was telling of the trials of the frenzy. Though there was life, it was under no small amount of pressure.

Still, it brought Orthos joy to see it. He spotted the red roof of a Pokemon center, covered in whirling mills and turbine of various kinds. Inside there was actually a fully functional healing machine and someone operating it. Orthos eagerly handed his Pokemon over and had them healed.

He sat down in the corner of the building and released all his Pokemon, including Kiran. Upon looking at him again, the headache surged back, but only briefly. The larvitar looked at him dead in the eye with steadfast intensity.

"Well, everyone, this is Kiran. We, uh, met in Dark Cave. Kiran, this is Lyn, Riara, and Renthar, who you've already met. I do hope you can get along." He said. Kiran did not break his stare. Orthos sighed and looked outside. The sun was setting, and exhaustion was rapidly overcoming his ability to think.

"Well, we can finish introductions tomorrow. Let's find somewhere to sleep, shall we?" Orthos stood and looked at Kiran. "Sorry, buddy, but I'm going to have to keep you in your ball until I know you trust me.” As he returned Kiran, Orthos thought he saw his glare soften slightly.

Some time later, Orthos found a spot. Across the water from the tall tower in the North end of town, he settled into a small clearing in the thick foliage. Huddling with his companions under a thin blanket, he slipped into sleep.


	4. Hope

He woke well after dawn, his back aching from having slept on a root. As he rubbed his back, he took a look around. All his party was there, still sleeping, except for Kiran. Orthos shrugged, figuring he probably didn't need too much sleep-  
  
He was supposed to be in his pokeball. Why was he not in his pokeball.  
  
He seemed docile enough, staring intently at...something in the trees. The shadows were too deep for him to see into, so he turned to the rather pressing question of Kiran’s departure from his pokeball.. Orthos pulled out his pokegear and called professor Elm.  
  
"Hey, Elm? I have a question..."  
  
"Orthos! It's about time you called! How is everything work-" Elm started.  
  
"In a moment, this is important. So, last night I caught a Larvitar in Dark Tunnel..."  
  
"Wait, a Larvitar? Those almost never leave Mount Silver..." He sounded worried, in a looming disaster sort of way  
  
"Is that a problem?"  
  
"Orthos, those Pokemon are walking disasters. They're voraciously hungry and rather aggressive, and their evolutions are far worse. Tyrannitar in particular is often referred to as the avatar of destruction. Has it caused you any trouble?"  
  
"No...he was hard to catch, but so far he's been pretty docile, if rather standoffish. Certainly not destruction made manifest. Except for one thing...I returned him to his ball last night, but when I woke up he was out."  
  
"Really? I've never heard of Pokemon leaving their balls on their own..." Orthos heard a distance voice over the phone, but couldn't make it out. "Hold on, Oak says he may know something."  
  
"Orthos?" Oak sounded excited. "You said that a Pokemon left its own ball? Did you see it happen? Were you in danger? Tell me everything!”  
  
"Yes, a Larvitar. I just found him last night. Unfortunately, I was asleep when it happened."  
  
"What's it doing?"  
  
"Him, Oak, not it. He's just staring into the forest. Has barely moved at all since I woke up. I’m not quite sure what he’s looking at as of yet."  
  
"Hmm...well, I have seen Pokemon leaving pokeballs, though only rarely, by particularly strong willed individuals. Certainly says something about that pokemon of yours.  
  
"Well, Kiran certainly put up a struggle..." Orthos thought about mentioning the migraines. They were certainly unusual, but elected not to. Oak had better things to worry about than some headaches. Oak told him about specific instances of it happening before, but Orthos was more interested in what Kiran was looking at. He was staring so adamantly into the shadows.  
  
The shifting light had revealed something shiny in the shadows, like gold. Orthos looked closer, peering into the shadows, and was able to make out a Pokemon, one that looked more plant than anything else, save for the radiant golden sheen.  
  
His pokedex identified it as a Bellsprout, but the image in the database was green and yellow and looked like a fairly normal plant, unlike the shining specimen before him.  
  
"Say, Oak, have you ever heard of a golden Bellsprout?" Orthos asked.  
  
"Golden? What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean a Bellsprout that looks like it's made of gold. Kiran's been staring at it this entire time.”  
  
Orthos could almost hear Oak's surprise. "Catch it! That Pokemon is more rare than I can possibly explain!”  
  
Orthos quickly found a pokeball and hurled it at the Bellsprout. It didn't struggle at all, or even try to dodge.  
  
"Well, that was easier than I expected." Orthos remarked as he picked up the ball. Particularly considering that he didn’t have to set up the suppressor. He’d tried a couple times to catch pokemon without activating it, but something would always end up breaking the ball completely.  
  
"It didn't struggle?"  
  
"No, not at all. It just...stood there. Heck, I didn't even use the suppressor."  
  
"WHAT!?" Oak shouted. "Orthos, we need to get that Bellsprout to the lab for study! If what you're saying is true, that Pokemon is immune to the frenzy! With that in hand, we might be able to figure out how to counteract its effects…”  
  
"Well, I guess I'll just head back then."  
  
"No, I'll send Crystal to pick it up. You need to stay out there and track the signal. Keep an eye out for crystal and see if you can't figure out where the signal's coming from. Good luck, Orthos."  
  
With that, Oak disconnected. Orthos looked at the pokeball in his hands. "Well, looks like you won't be staying with us for long. Still, might as well give you a name...Hope sounds appropriate."  
  
He stood, looking back at the town. "Let's do some scanning, shall we?"

* * *

 

"Hey, Professor Oak? I've tracked down the source of the signal. Or at least the closest one." Orthos looked up at the large building. "It's coming from the town's gym."  
  
"What? The gym? Why would...but Falkner...Orthos, find the gym leader. I don't think he's behind it."  
  
"Whatever you say, Oaky."  
  
"Don't call me tha-" CLICK.  
  
Orthos was a little tired of chat. He walked into the gym, with Kiran right behind him.  
  
Inside, the floor was rather clear, but there were raised platforms all over, and it looked like there were people on them, though it was difficult to tell. More prominent, however, was the presence of birds. They were everywhere, the sound, sight, and smell of the avian Pokemon completely dominating the space. There was absolutely no way to mistake the specialty of the gym.  
  
"You up for this, Kiran?" Orthos asked. Kiran simply shifted the weight of the rock he was carrying on his shoulders, a boulder nearly as big as he was. For a moment, he actually seemed to be smiling.

* * *

 

"Now that's what I like to see! Keep it up, just don't hurt them too badly, alright Kiran?"  
  
Kiran nodded slightly, breaking off another chunk of the boulder and pulverizing it with a powerful punch. The rock burst into chunks that flew with incredible speed at the spearow that was trying to get to him. He missed his mark, barely scratching the bird, which went into a nose dive at Kiran.  
  
There was a rather loud CLACK sound.  
  
Kiran was completely unharmed. The spearow's beak and talons were simply not enough to so much as scratch Kiran's carapace. He threw the confused bird to the ground and simply held it there, his 160 pound bulk far more than the tiny bird could hope to budge.  
  
"I think it's pretty clear who the victor is here." Orthos remarked smugly.  
  
"A-alright, you win! What do you want?" One of the trainers stuttered out fearfully.  
  
"I want to have a word with Falkner. And probably a battle too. I have rather enjoyed fighting without the feeling of imminent danger, and as I understand, he’s quite the trainer.”  
  
The trainers look at Orthos, appearing relieved though a bit confused. "Wait, that's it? Why in Ho-oh's name didn't you just say that?”  
  
Orthos raised his hand to object before realizing he had made no attempt whatsoever to tell them. "Hmm."  
  
"You came up here shouting your name and declaring that you would let nothing stop you! And you had that little demon beside you with MURDER in its eyes!"  
  
"Ah. Well, I assure you that Kiran is friendly enough, aren't you boy?" Kiran flashed Orthos a look that said, in a thousand ways, _Never speak like that to me again_.  
  
"Ugh, whatever. Falkner went off to sprout tower again. He's probably at the top with the sage."  
  
"Ah, thank you, then. Until we meet again, FAREWELL!"  
  
Orthos left the gym feeling a little embarrassed. “Say what I want first, then say I’ll let nothing stop me. Say what I want first, then say I’ll let nothing stop me…” He muttered to himself as he walked North to the tower.


	5. Respect

So, sprout tower, huh? You don't suppose it has anything to do with a absolutely ludicrous number of Bellsprout in the area, do you, Lyn?"  
  
Lyn made a cooing noise, followed by a lively tune of chirps. Orthos smiled, very appreciative of Lyn's joyous nature.  
  
"Well, let's be on our way, then! I heard this place is haunted too!" Lyn's song stuttered and took on a more minor tone as they entered the tower. Inside, they witnessed the oddest piece of architecture they had ever witnessed. The massive center column of the tower was not fixed, but bent and swayed gently like a tree in the wind.  
  
"I see you're interested in the pillar, eh, boy?" An old monk said as he approached Orthos.  
  
"I suppose you could say that..."  
  
"It represents nature's ability to prevail over trials not by facing them head on, but by bending and swaying, never breaking."  
  
It was certainly a beautiful metaphor, but didn't exactly do much to assure Orthos of the structure's stability. "So, I heard this tower was haunted..."  
  
The monk scoffed. "I don't know who told you what, but there's nothing to be afraid of. Yes, there are a few Gastly roaming about, but they're harmless, nothing more than observers or, at worst, pranksters."  
  
Lyn seemed a little relieved. "Well, we're heading up. I need to talk to Falkner."  
  
"Be careful, son, those ladders can be treacherous!"  
  
As they ascended the tower, they had some quick battles with the monks; something about reaching the top being a challenge and worthiness. Lyn made short work of the myriad of grass types the monks were using, and they were making good progress.  
  
They heard something laughing. More of a chuckle than anything else, really, a quiet laugh from observing something mildly amusing.  
  
They turned, seeing nothing. The chuckle was heard again, though, from some unseen thing in front of them. Orthos sent out Renthar and had him douse the area.  
  
A Gastly revealed itself, sporting a small, knowing grin and a peaceful expression. "Ah, just one of you, huh? The monks said you wouldn't give us any trouble...sorry about the water, you probably know how it is. Though you certainly don't seem to be affected by the Frenzy...I suppose that might be because you're a ghost."  
  
The Gastly nodded and laughed quietly again. For a moment, the two stared each other down. Then, Orthos spoke up. "Don't suppose you'd care to join the party? Could always use another friendly face. Could also do with another pair of hands, but I'll take what I can get."  
  
The Gastly laughed heartily, and agreed. Out of the fog surrounding him, letters formed. "Joshua, eh? I presume that's your name." The ghost nodded, and Orthos offered up a pokeball. Joshua went on in, and Orthos continued up the tower.

  
  
When he reached the top, he heard a voice, one that was rather familiar from an exchange at Cherrygrove. As Orthos peered around the gently shifting pillar, the sight of bright red hair confirmed his suspicions. It was Silver. Orthos decided to simply wait and listen. He had bigger concerns than catching a vandal, and it looked like the sage and Falkner were having a discussion prior to their interruption.  
  
"Yes, you have earned the reward, but you really ought to realize you aren't as strong as you think you are. Your overconfidence is as dangerous as it is unfounded"  
  
"Exactly how many times have you rehearsed this lecture, old man? I don't recall asking your approval." Silver spat out rudely. "Look, just give me the reward and you can return to thinking about pointless truths or whatever it was you were doing."  
  
The sage sighed and retrieved a small, carefully wrapped package from a small shelf. He handed the box to Silver, and watched as he stormed out of the room.  
  
He passed by Orthos without noticing, due at large to Joshua masking his presence. When Silver was gone, Orthos thanked Joshua. "See? Already pulling your weight in the team. You got a good head, Josh. Which is great because that's all you've got!"  
  
The two chuckled quietly, missing some of Falkner and the Sage talking. Orthos quieted Joshua and listened carefully.  
  
"-will not help you with this, Falkner." The sage stated firmly.  
  
"Are you still sour about that? You know as well as I do that times are different. We have to do whatever it takes to survive!" Falkner replied with growing frustration.  
  
"In your attempts to do what is safe, you have forgotten to do what is right."  
  
"If you think it's so bad then help me! For Arceus' sake, with your monks helping out we might actually be able to keep them out!"  
  
"Keep who out?" Orthos interrupted, his patience waning rapidly. "Oh, am I interrupting anything? Well, no matter. Falkner, I need to have a word with you."  
  
"Twice in the same - oh, just, what do you want?" Falkner stammered, his frustration rising.  
  
"I have reason to believe your gym is a source of the signal causing the Frenzy. Do you know anything about that?" Orthos spoke calmly but firmly, trying to press Falkner without provoking him.  
  
Falkner froze, and his gaze narrowed. "What do you know?"  
  
"Enough." Orthos bluffed, hoping to get Falkner to tell him more.  
  
Falkner sat there for moment, then stood up and walked to Orthos.  
  
"Come to my gym. I will tell you more if you prove you're stronger than your idiotic smile would lead to believe." Falkner walked past Orthos in a huff.  
  
"Any idea what's got his feathers all ruffled up?" Orthos asked the sage.  
  
"I will explain what I can. Come, sit down. You have done very well thus far, and unlike that boy before you, you seem to have some degree of humility." Orthos sat down and the sage offered him some tea. "When you are ready, we will begin your final trial."  
  
"In a moment. Lyn could use a bit of a break, and I believe you were going to tell me about Falkner." Orthos released his whole party. The sage gave all of them a cup of tea, including Kiran, after a moment of hesitation. He also placed a cup in front of a Pokemon Orthos had not yet noticed sleeping in the corner. He wasn't sure what it was, and there was something drawing him to it, but decided pulling out his pokedex would be a bit rude and paid the snoring green Pokemon no mind.  
  
"Please do not think poorly of Falkner he is only doing what he thinks is best for the town."  
  
"What exactly did he-"  
  
"Patience. Shorty after the Frenzy began, a group of cloaked strangers broke through the defenses. Falkner tried to fight back, but his foes were far too powerful. He lost several of his companions that day. When he was beaten, the leader of their group made him an offer: they would spare Violet city if he would allow them to build something on his gym. I can hardly fault him for his decision; He had little choice. More of them showed up a few days later, and they built their device atop his gym."  
  
Orthos put it together quickly. "That device is projecting the signal." He had to destroy it. "Alright, but why was he here?"  
  
"He has been trying to convince me to aid him in defending the-"  
  
Orthos slammed his fist on the table. "Why the Hell are you refusing?" Orthos' outburst woke the Pokemon in the corner, causing it to release a burst of green dust from the large bulb on its back. It looked around, confused, but when the dust settled on him he promptly fell asleep again.  
  
"He made his choice. I will not endanger my students in supporting him while he allows invaders to rule over him."  
  
Orthos' face filled with rage. "Exactly how thick is that bald head of yours?! You said yourself that you can't blame him for his decision, but when he comes to you for help in reversing it, you condemn him and refuse to help him fight back! An then you have the arrogance to say he's forgotten what's right? HAVE YOU GONE SENILE?!"  
  
"How dare you! Have you no respect for your elders?" The Elder scolded, calm but retributive.  
  
"Respect is not something you are entitled to just because you've sat on your ass contemplating your navel longer than anyone else!" The sage tried to say something, but Orthos was far from finished. "Respect is something that is earned. Something that you fight for! I don't care how decayed by age your brain may be, I refuse to respect a man who refuses to help someone do what is right!"  
  
"Listen, boy, you have no idea what you're talk-"  
  
"Don't insult me!" Orthos shouted angrily, "I know well enough to tell that you are either a coward or a fool!"  
  
The sage was quiet, but furious, in spite of his peaceful expression. "You say that in spite of the insults you have spouted already? I did not imagine you to be a hypocrite." He said calmly.  
  
"I said nothing that was not deserved." Orthos spat out coldly.  
  
"I thought you a promising trainer when you walked in, but it seems my judgement has failed me." The sage stood and faced Orthos. "You will face the final challenge and leave my tower. Be grateful I am still giving you the opportunity to be tested. Sent out who you will."  
  
"Lyn, take care of him, will you? We have an appointment with Falkner."  
  
Lyn chirped...fiercely? At the very least, she seemed determined. She flew in, making short work of the grass Pokemon the Sage sent out. However, when the old sage's hoothoot entered, she began to struggle.  
  
Having not faced the unusual abilities possessed by the Hootoot, Lyn quickly succumbed to confusion and then sleep.  
  
"You have no discipline, and neither do your pets. Teach this insolent whelp a lesson, bird." The Hootoot prepared to strike the final blow. Orthos fumbled for Lyn's pokeball, but he wasn't going to make it in time.  
  
Just as the Hootoot began to strike, a long, strong vine whipped out of the shadows, throwing Hootoot aside. All looked at the source of the vine: the sleeping Pokemon had woken up, and was now leisurely walking towards the battle.  
  
The sage furrowed his brow. "Traitorous little Bulbasaur..." He muttered.  
  
The Bulbasaur shuffled along, stopping in front of Lyn. By all accounts, it looked as harmless as could be, lazily flopping onto the ground as though about to take another nap. "Is he...helping me?" Orthos questioned. The Bulbasaur turned its head and gave a low grunt of approval. Orthos smiled, and recalled Lyn.  
  
"Don't think this changes things. Put it to sleep! Shouldn't be a challenge at all."  
  
The Hootoot invoked its power again, but the Bulbasaur didn't seem to be at all affected. Barely moving, it launched a clump of green dust at the Hootoot, landing a direct hit. It fell to the ground, asleep. The Bulbasaur then wrapped its vines around the bird, trapping it in its grasp.  
  
When the Hootoot woke, it struggled to break free, bu to no avail. When it was clear he could not win, the sage reluctantly yielded. He recalled his Hootoot and went to retrieve Orthos' prize.  
  
"Alright! Nicely done, you sleepy little bugger!" Orthos declared triumphantly. He picked up the Bulbasaur and hefted it into the air in celebration. It did not join in the festivities, though, having fallen asleep once again. Orthos laughed, and set down the sleeping Pokemon to accept his prize.  
  
"Get out." The sage commanded after tossing the package. "And don't think that that lazy Bulbasaur is coming with you."  
  
Orthos sighed, looking at Lyn's savior. "Fine. Do try not to trip over your own cowardice while I'm gone. It's awfully hard to see where you're going when you choose to be a fool."  
  
Orthos stormed out of the tower, a thousand insults boiling over in his mind, spilling out of his mouth in a stream of muttered cursing. As he was exiting the tower, he took one more look at the tower. "Bends but never breaks." He said. "Spineless coward..." As he was turning away, he caught a glimpse of something descending the tower.  
  
The Bulbasaur was climbing down the tower with his vines. "Oh you have got to be kidding me." Orthos muttered. He ran towards the base of the tower, afraid that it was going to fall.  
  
And fall it did. It slipped about thirty feet from the ground, tumbling to the ground. Orthos leaped forward to catch it, barely grabbing him not a few feet from the ground. He clutched it to his chest as he crashed into the carefully trimmed bushes surrounding the tower.  
  
Bruised and battered, Orthos lay on the ground with the Bulbasaur lying safely on his chest. Asleep. Again. "The least you could do is stay awake long enough to thank me, you know..." Orthos groaned. "Alright, what's mr dex say about you..."  
  
He browsed through the Bulbasaur entry. "Nothing here about incessant sleeping. I guess you're just special." He poked his head, waking him from his nap. Once awake, he walked up to Orthos' head and bumped him with his stout head affectionately. "Alright, fine, you're too cute to be angry at even if I wanted to be."  
  
The feeling of familiarity flashed through Orthos again, much as it had with the rest of his team, though not as strongly. Still, a name formed from the echoes. "Desmond...that sounds like a good name. Welcome to the party."


	6. Conflict

  
  
Orthos stopped by the Pokemon center to heal, and then it was off to the Gym. Kiran took point once again, hauling in another large boulder. On seeing Kiran, the trainers all backed off, leaving Orthos unopposed as he walked to Falkner.  
  
"That certainly took a while." Falkner said impatiently. He stood at the highest part of the entire gym, looking over everything, including the battleground. Orthos had been thinking a great deal about what to say, and his words came out like a rehearsed line.  
  
"Yes, well I had a disagreement with the sage. He told me about what happened." Orthos replied, "And you did the right thing, under the circumstances. And now, you're trying to do the right thing again.”  
  
"That might mean more if you had any idea how dangerous taking down that device would be. That is your goal, right?”  
  
"Is it any more dangerous than doing nothing? How many friends have you already lost? We cannot just stand idle. We have to fight back!" Orthos declared passionately. “You’re  
  
"Alright, look, here's what's going to happen. We're going to battle, I'm going to beat you, and you're going to go home and stop trying to change things you have no power to control.”  
  
"I prefer to call that personality trait conviction. Kiran, you know what to do."  
  
The battle began. Kiran made short work of most of Falkner’s pokemon, knocking them out of the air with well-placed barrages of rock. First, Doduo, then Farfetch’d, then Swablu, all taken down by the hail of boulders.  
  
“Orson! Take him down!” Falkner cried, sending in his strongest fighter, his pidgeotto. He did not attack, however, simply standing in place, starting at Kiran, exchanging words only they could hear.

* * *

"Typical." The pidgeotto muttered.  
  
"Should I be insulted? I suggest you start flying if you're hoping to last longer than any of your fellows." Kiran declared as he broke off another chunk of stone. He lined up to hit the bird that, though easily twice as large as he was, was less than a fourth of his weight.  
  
"No, just that the precursor to destruction would be the harbinger of the fool who's going to doom our town." The flying Pokemon hurled fierce blasts of wind at Kiran, who ignored them completely, while nimbly dodging the blasts of rock hurling from Kiran's fists.  
  
"Presumptuous bird..." Kiran hurled out the insult without hesitation or remorse. "At least you fight with some skill, even if you rely on petty excuses for inaction."  
  
A rock shard clipped the pidgeotto's right wing, sending him spinning. He recovered rapidly. "Excuses? It's clear you're every bit the starry eyed fool your master is. Had you seen the power those cloaked murderers held, you would not be throwing around such accusations!"  
  
"He is not my 'master'. I follow him because he has the will to take action. The will to change the immutable." Kiran hurled a few small shards of stone, trying to frustrate rather than harm. “He will do what Falkner is incapable of doing himself.”  
  
"Has your thick skull prevented you from considering the consequences of such change? This town might well be destroyed because of that fool's reckless action!" His frustration was building, wearing away at his good judgement.  
  
_Perfect._ Kiran thought. He continued his light barrage, placing his foe exactly where he wanted him to be. "I am not so naive. I realize that such action would be foolish at this time."  
  
"What? Then why do you speak so much of change? You hurl insults, and yet you agree with Falkner's choices?" The pidgeotto was furious. Succumbing to its anger over its better judgement, it flew in to attack Kiran directly.  
  
He seized Kiran by the shoulders and attempted to lift him, but Kiran's bulk was still far too large. He grabbed the talons of his foe and threw him to the ground. "Even if you are making the best decision, you do not have the capacity to step away from that choice. You will simply find another reason to do nothing." He held down the struggling bird.  
  
"Is that not what he has been trying to do? To get those monks to help us so we can be rid of that device!"  
  
"Even if he could convince those coward monks to aid you, that boy does not have the fire to bring about change."  
  
"Then you would have a naive fool do it for us? What is going through that head of - no...I think I understand."  
  
"Do enlighten me."  
  
"You want the destruction, don't you? It's in your blood. You're no different from the rest of your disastrous kind."  
  
Kiran stopped simply holding the pidgeotto down and began applying more pressure. "I have never known another of 'my kind'. I am not them. I am a warrior. I am stronger than someone like you could ever dream to become. I am Kiran." He pushed down harder, feeling bones begin to yield. "And I am going to help Orthos change the world."  
  
He released, leaving the pidgeotto bruised and beaten, but at large unharmed. "For all that I can see, all the change he will bring will only make things worse." Pidgeotto said weakly.  
  
"To have nothing change, to exist in stagnancy...is worse than death. It is to never have lived. Consider that. Though I doubt it will change your inability to choose." Kiran declared firmly.  
  
He had no further words. He returned to Orthos' side, stoic in contrast to his trainer's triumphant celebrations.  
  
The two warriors glared at each other, unrelenting as the beaten pidgeotto was withdrawn.

* * *

 

Falkner looked at Orthos sternly. They stared at each other for some time. "What. Were you expecting me to have some change of heart because you beat me? That I would magically believe that it's safe to take down that device? That's not exactly how the world works." Said Falkner  
  
"A change of heart would have been nice, I suppose." Orthos replied.  
  
"Do whatever you will. I couldn't stop you if I tried to."  
  
Orthos stood in thought. Falkner was right. Taking down the device would put Violet city in a lot of danger. And yet...to walk away with the broadcaster still functioning? Nothing about that sat right with him. It felt as though his mind was at war with itself.  
  
"I'll be back. I need to think about this." He walked out, stewing over his options. He sat down on a bench, and tried to piece it all together.  
  
Ultimately, he could not come to a decision, and found a couch in the corner of the Pokemon center to crash in for the night.  
  
  
He dreamed of dragons.  
  
They were unlike anything he had seen, great and powerful beasts that towered over men. They were every bit as terrifying as they were awe inspiring.  
  
When Orthos woke, he scrambled for something to draw with, digging through his pack. He found the notepad and pencil he'd been keeping his notes and sketches in and quickly scrawled out sketches of the dragons he had seen in his dream.  
  
Once he had drawn all that he could remember, he sat there, pouring over them. Though he was unsure what he hoped would happen, these dragons seemed important somehow. There was a small hope that perhaps they were a clue to his past...  
  
"Well, you seem rather intent on something." Crystal's familiar voice called out. "It's unusual to see you with such a serious expression."  
  
"Oh! Crystal! Come here, take a look at these...do you know what any of them could be?" Orthos called her closer.  
  
Crystal examined the drawings, trying to match them with Pokemon she knew of, but to no avail. "No, I don't know anything about these. Though I'm hardly an expert on dragons. Did you try your pokedex?"  
  
"What? No..." Orthos got it out and started flipping through it.  
  
"No, I mean seeing if the dex can recognize them. Here, let me show you..."  
  
  
"This one's coming up as Rayquaza. That look right?"  
  
"No, it's head was thicker and there were three horns on each side. Also I'm pretty sure it had wings. Let's try this one...closest matches are Ryhorn and Tyrannitar, but neither of them are the right color."  
  
"Well, it seems to be that your drawings aren't of any Pokemon we know of."  
  
"If they aren't Pokemon, than what are they? They were so...vivid."  
  
"Orthos. It was a dream." Crystal stated flatly, "it probably means absolutely nothing."  
  
"Well, forgive me for trying to latch onto any sign of my past. I have a lot to figure out, you know! Actually, speaking of which, I had another headache like when I met Lyn."  
  
"Do explain."  
  
"Well, it was with Kiran over there, the larvitar. It was a lot like with Lyn, but far, FAR more intense. As in, so intense that I fell to my knees. I guess it must have hit him as hard as it did me, because he didn't attack me for a while."  
  
"A larvitar? Orthos, do you have any idea how dange-"  
  
"Yes, yes, extremely dangerous, highly aggressive, will kill my family and burn down the orphanage, I heard it all from Oak. He has done nothing to harm me or anyone else, and besides, I...I know him. He has something to do with my past. I know it." He looked out at Kiran, who was playing with - no, teaching Renthar. Just casually sparring, showing Renthar how to better defend himself. "He's a warrior at heart, I know it. He took on Falkner single handedly, and only fought until his opponents were defeated."  
  
"Well..." Holly jumped over to Kiran and Renthar, curious about what they were doing. Kiran stopped, turned to Holly and began doing the same with her. "I guess he doesn't seem all that bad. Oh, you said you beat Falkner? Did he give you a badge?"  
  
"A badge? No, should he have?"  
  
"Well, yeah. As a gym leader he's obligated to reward challengers with a badge if they beat him."  
  
"Well, I guess I'll have to head back there anyway...listen, maybe you can help me with this..."  
  
Orthos explained the situation. The cloaked men, Falkner's choices, the device, the sage, everything. "I just...I have no idea how to approach this! I know that we should take down the device, but everything Falkner said is true! Doing it would put everyone in danger! It feels like this should be a cut and dry decision, but there's just no way to make it all work!" Orthos sat with his head in his hands, dueling with his own thoughts. Crystal tried to think of something to say, but she was every bit as conflicted as Orthos.  
  
Orthos’ team looked at the troubled Orthos, and gathered together, determined to help him somehow. After some time, they had an idea. Lyn flew up to Orthos’ shoulder and chirped cheerfully, nudging his cheek. Orthos looked up, meeting the smiling face of Joshua. “GAH!” Orthos shouted in surprise. “Good heavens, Joshua, could you be a little less startling?” Orthos scolded, but his smile belied his words, and it was clear he was forcing back laughter. Joshua chuckled, and directed Orthos’ attention to the words forming in the mist around him.  
  
_Orthos, the others have requested that I relay this message. We trust you. No matter what choice you make, we will support you as best we can. You’ve saved all of us, and given us hope. We’re with you._  
  
Kiran in particular wished to voice that you have earned his trust, and that he will aid you in your quest to change the world.  
  
Orthos had no words. His whole team was gathered together, looking at him with eyes full of hope. "Well...I suppose I have to make a decision, now, don't I?" He thought for a moment, but of course nothing came. "Well, I heard there are some ruins nearby. This seems like a good opportunity to stretch the legs and see the sights. Who knows, we may find something illuminating."  
  
As Orthos was about to leave, Crystal stopped him. "Hold it there, captain adventure. I have a package for you." She pulled a large bundle out of her pack and handed it to Orthos. "Remember that egg Mr. Pokemon gave you? Well, he wants you to have it. Elm says Pokemon do better when they hatch with a trainer than in a lab."  
  
Orthos took the egg, feeling its weight. It seemed heavy not so much because of it's size as the weight of the responsibility that came with carrying it. "Well...I guess I'll try, but surely you realize that I have no idea how to raise an infant Pokemon."  
  
"That's what I told Elm, but he said your kind heart makes up for any lack of knowledge. Just be sure to give him a call if you have any problems. Now, the Bellsprout."  
  
Orthos had forgotten about the Bellsprout he had caught the day before. "Ah, yes. I haven't exactly introduced myself to him. Let's take care of that first." Hope appeared in a flash of light, his golden sheen making the light seem that much more radiant.  
  
"Hey there, I'm Orthos. Sorry I haven't introduced myself already, but we've been a little busy. Is it alright if we call you Hope?"  
  
The Bellsprout nodded. "Good. You probably already know that you aren't affected by the Frenzy, so here's the deal. There are a couple good men who want to study you to see if they can figure out a way to cure it. I know it might seem a little shady, but if it can lead to a cure..." Hope nodded, and took on a submissive stance. "Thank you." Orthos said as he returned him. He handed the ball to Crystal, who was watching the whole exchange.  
  
"Alright then. I'll be sure he gets to New Bark safely. Hopefully he'll lead us to a solution."  
  
"Yeah, all we can do is **hope**!"  
  
Pun launched, damage minimal. Orthos walked out of the Pokemon center once again full of optimism. Crystal sighed, gathered her pack, and started walking home.

 


	7. Unknown

The path to the ruins was steep but well worn, years of use wearing the dirt path smooth. Riara followed Orthos with some difficulty, but absolutely refused to be carried or helped. Lyn flew about, whistling a lively melody.  
  
"It's hard to believe I can forget how much I love being on the road after only a few days in town. It's so much easier to think without walls and ceilings blocking my imagination!" Orthos cried out, heedless of whatever dangers accompany making one's presence known in the wilderness.  
  
Even so, their encounters with hostiles were surprisingly minimal, and what few they came across were routed in short order by Lyn and Riara. With so few obstructions and renewed vigor in his step, Orthos soon arrived at the Ruins of Alph.  
  
Those who have spent their lives exploring can tell you of the age of things. Of the age surrounding an abandoned town, of the ancient air in a tomb, or of the aura of silent reverence that pervades sites of great spiritual importance. However, they know that there is a kind of age unlike any other.  
  
That of no age. To be timeless, beyond the reach of history. To be timeless is to be so ancient that history cannot remember, and yet so new as to confound all those who witness it.  
  
The ruins of Alph were, in many ways, such a place. A place beyond the reach of historians wherein speculation rings as strong as well founded theories. A place of mystery, and a place of discovery.  
  
Orthos was getting giddy just looking at it all. Nestled in a secluded valley lay the cavernous ruins, all waiting to be explored.  
  
Regrettably, much of the ruins lay beyond his reach, situated across great ponds and ancient stone walls. In fact, only the main chamber, a secondary room and the old archaeology center were accessible. He spent some time in the main chamber, lighting his way with the brightly glowing stone he received from the sage the day before, somewhat disappointed by the lack of anything of interest. The entire thing was just one huge, snaking corridor. The walls were covered in runes he could not read, and the only other feature was a series of identical statues of some Pokemon he didn't recognize.  
  
With nothing of interest there, he made his way to the secondary chamber. It looked like it was a tourist attraction at some point, judging by how worn the stone floor was in comparison to the other areas. There were few empty pedestals that probably once displayed artifacts, but had been picked clean by scavengers some time ago. The main focal point of the room remained, being a large mural on the far wall. It was...rather unusual to say the least.

Two great birds, both attacking a bizarre creature in the center of the mural, one striking with mighty flames, and the other with blasts of wind. Though clearly very powerful, the being in the center appeared to be blocking their attacks with ease. There were no words or runes that might explain the display, leaving its meaning a mystery.  
  
Orthos was not sure what to make of it, but it intrigued him deeply. He drew closer, his gaze focused on the mysterious creature in the center of the mural. As he approached, there was a hum of power in the air, as intoxicating as it was compelling. Scarcely in control of his own actions, Orthos touched the mural.

A hundred voices sounded in Orthos' mind, speaking in unison with such intensity that Orthos thought the ceiling would collapse.

Orthos stepped back, shaken. "What in all hellfire was that?" He muttered, a deep, foreboding chill setting into his mind.   
  
Riara growled at something behind him. He turned, and witnessed something that chilled him more than all the voices in the world ever could.   
  
Red, malevolent, hateful eyes began to emerge from the shadows, surrounded by holes in the air so black they stood out against the dark shadows of the dimly lit chamber like night and day. The holes in space were ever shifting, always taking on new forms, but more often than not, appearing as letters. Letters that spelled out words.  
  
Interloper. Meddler. Outsider. Imbalance.  
  
Orthos sent out everyone, the hateful eyes boring through his courage rapidly, allowing fear to overtake him.  
  
Purge. Undo. Remove. Destroy. Correct. Eliminate.  
  
More than anything, the words that formed told of unbelonging.

He fumbled his pokedex out, desperate to grasp at some form of understanding of what lay before him, but all the device had to offer him was one word.  
  
Unknown.  
  
They attacked, loosing some kind of energy at Orthos and his team in the form of nightmarishly black shards. While Desmond and Joshua tried their best to protect Orthos from the shards, he was nonetheless hit by some. It hurt horrendously where he was hit, but most of the pain was simply his brain trying to rationalize the sensation of something trying to tear his soul away from his body. He howled in pain and confusion, causing everyone to redouble their efforts to protect their friend.  
  
But it was not enough. Though the black shards did not hurt them nearly so much as it did Orthos, they could not fight on much longer. Orthos saw this, and his determination flared like a resurgent flame, as a pheonix from the ashes. "Don't you dare give in!" He shouted over his pain. "You can all do this! If you aren't strong enough-" Orthos felt something inside of him, like a floodgate opening. "-THEN BECOME STRONGER!"  
  
Renthar, Lyn, Riara and Desmond began to glow. White light poured out of them as they started to grow larger and stronger. Riara's teeth grew sharper, Renthar's jaw became stronger, Lyn's wings became broader and Desmond's bulb blossomed. The light drove back the malevolent entities, and when the light began to fade, they simply held back, watching.

Slowly, Orthos stood. The eyes watched, unblinking. Carefully, he began to walk out of the chamber, with all his companions guarding him vigilantly. Still, they simply watched.  
  
They left the room, never more relieved to see sunlight. Orthos looked back, seeing a few of the blood red eyes still staring back at him.  
  
He looked at his pokedex once again. "Unknown," he said quietly. Then, he turned away, praying that he might forget the nightmarish gaze of the eyes, now knowing that some discoveries should not be remembered, if not for the world's sake, then for the sake of the discoverer.  
  
"Oh my heavens, just look at all of you!" Orthos declared, looking over his newly evolved friends. "This is fantastic! Just...wow! I mean, you're so much bigger and stronger, and awesome, and...I mean, I just can't even put words together to describe it!"  
  
Renthar, Riara and Lyn all looked themselves over, basking in Orthos' awe. Desmond was too busy napping to take part in the festivities.  
  
Orthos went off to look back at the ruins, leaving his pokemon to relax a bit on their own  
  
"Oh, man, just look at us! Nothing can possibly stand in our way now!" Renthar declared.  
  
"Well, yeah, it's nice. I suppose you and I won't be able to ride on Orthos anymore, will we?" Lyn said jovially.  
  
"I'd say there's nothing stopping us, really. I mean, we're doing all the heavy lifting, after all. It'll do him good to get a workout!" Renthar said with a broad grin much like the one Orthos nearly always wore.  
  
"I don't mean to interrupt your festivities..." Riara began, her voice always locked in a serious tone.  
  
"Yes, you do." Renthar interrupted. "But do go on. You have my attention." Renthar lazered in his focus on Riara as though she were the most beautiful Croconaw the world had ever seen, donning the idiotic smile of a half-drunk man wooing an unwilling woman. Lyn laughed heartily.  
  
Riara glared at him with alarming intensity. "Could you attempt to treat anything seriously? You're nearly as bad as the ever slumbering Desmond!" She growled.  
  
"I can hear you over there" Desmond mumbled sleepily.  
  
They looked over at Desmond, surprised he was at all awake. The ivysaur was completely prone, basking in the sunlight, eyes closed, and by all accounts quite asleep.  
  
"Oh, come on, Riara," Lyn said calmly. "He may sleep a lot, but he’s always there when we need him!"  
  
"Doesn't change the fact that neither he nor this blue idiot are taking this seriously." Riara countered fiercely.  
  
Renthar scowled. "Oh, and so you're so much better? What gives you the right to insult me?"  
  
"It's not about rights, it's about stating the perfectly obvious!" Riara roared. She barred her teeth and growled. Renthar parted his lips to show his massive teeth and powerful jaw.  
  
"Guys, come on, Orthos wouldn't want you fighting each other!" Lyn said.  
  
Riara was about to respond when a razor sharp shard of jet black obsidian slammed into the ground between Riara and Renthar. "Lyn's right," Kiran called from the other side of the path. "Orthos wouldn't like that at all, and neither would I. I suggest you two settle this peacefully."  
  
"I don't recall War Leader giving you the authority to command us." Riara growled.  
  
"Changing nothing. Now, play nice." Kiran stomped on the ground, and another obsidian shard shot out, landing neatly in his hand.  
  
Riara and Renthar grudgingly separated. Kiran stood, Joshua floating next to him. "Now, I believe we were talking about something?" Kiran said to the ghost.   
  
“Yes, you wanted to know if I heard the voices as well. Indeed, I did, and I must say it is quite the mystery.”  
  
“So you don’t know what it means either then.”  
  
"It is true that I cannot place precisely the meaning of what occurred within the ruins, but that is not to say that I am beyond supposition as to the nature of recent events."  
  
"Would you speak plainly for two minutes? You tie every sentence into an elaborate knot of metaphor and hidden meaning."  
  
"My apologies, Sir Kiran. What I mean to say is that I have my own theories about the meaning of the events in the ruins."  
  
"Elaborate for me."  
  
"I believe you also heard the voices, did you not? Think back to the final words."  
  
"'They could not defeat that which lies beyond the stars'. Do you think it means that literally?"  
  
"That is one interpretation. Regardless, Two things are clear: there was a tremendous power beyond understanding that came from beyond this world. Beyond that my guess is every bit as valid as your own."  
  
Kiran scowled. "Delightful." He muttered.  
  
  
Orthos looked back at the ruins, now barely discernible from the hills around it. Still, the chill in his limbs had not yet faded, the memory of the ungodly pain he had experienced still fresh in his mind. The feeling of dread he felt under the gaze of the red eyes had not left him either. He could feel a fear forming, a dread that would undoubtedly prevent him from ever returning to those ruins.  
  
“AH HA HA HA!” He laughed mightily, casting aside the fear. “Come around, everyone, it’s time we celebrated our success! Today, we’ve delved into ancient ruins and woken powers we do not understand and walked away unscathed! We’ve found the first clue of a great mystery, and in days to come I know we will return to solve it!” He threw out his arm, pointing at the ruins. “You thought you could scare me off? HA! I am beyond fear! You’ve only stirred my thirst for discovery! We will be back, and nothing you could ever dream of will scare us off, for we will simply take that fear and use it to forge the blade of courage we will use to cut away the shadows and reveal to all the world what secrets you hold! We are more than just wanderers, we are warriors, those who fight with honor and pride! We are wayfarers, those who forge paths out of untamed wilds! We are adventurers, those who seek out the greatest wonders the world has to offer and fearlessly conquer every challenge placed before us!”  
  
Orthos looked out, the fear gone. He would be back, he was sure of that, but for now, he had a decision to make. “Alright, let’s make our way back to Violet city. I’ve made my choice.”

* * *

 

“Falkner!” Orthos blasted into the gym. “I’ve made my decision!”  
  
Falkner looked at Orthos, unsure of what to expect. “Well? Don’t keep me waiting.” He said coldly.  
  
Orthos took a deep breath. After reassuring himself of his choice, he spoke. “I’m going to leave the broadcaster be.”  
  
“Well, I suppose I’ll just evacuate the town as best I can – what?”  
  
“You’re right. It’s too dangerous right now. but that’s not to say I’m just going to walk off. I’ll be back to take that device down, just as soon as I prove to you that there’s nothing to fear.”  
  
“And how exactly are you going to do that? What are you going to say to change my mind?”  
  
“I don’t need to say a word. When you hear tales of my strength, of my heroism, you’ll know. You’ll know that I’m the hero that’s going to save Johto, the man who will change the world!” He said heroically, striking a dramatic pose. "But, before I depart, seeing as Kiran and I have bested you in battle, I do believe you are obligated to present us with some recognition of our prowess."  
  
"...What?" Falker responded, confused.  
  
"I want my badge." Orthos said, his heroic expression giving way to one of mild disappointment. _Way to kill the mood..._  
  
"Oh, um, yes...just let me get them from the back." Falkner rummaged around a cupboard, and walked up to Orthos, presenting him with the Zephyr badge without fanfare. He also handed him a piece of paper with his phone number on it. "Let me know when you're going to come back, will you? It'd be good to have some warning."  
  
Orthos nodded and dashed out of the gym laughing heartily. Falkner watched him leave, trying to figure out what in Arceus’ name just happened.


	8. Travellers

Orthos sat in the Pokémon center, looking at his map. “So, the path west is blocked by a landslide, so that leaves south…looks like quite a trek. By the look of things, it’s three days trek just to get to the entrance of Union Tunnel. Best stock up on food. Maybe get a tent or something.” He poured over the trail, planning his route carefully. A few brochures from a rack in the Pokecenter offered places to get water and good campsites. He made a plan in his notebook, went off to buy supplies, and spent one final night in Violet before heading out.  
  
And so they trekked. From dawn until the first signs of twilight, they walked southward, fighting off wild pokemon and even a few scavengers and raiders they encountered along the way. At night, they slept together under the stars, huddled together for warmth, wishing that Orthos had enough money to afford a tent. After days of trekking, they caught sight of the always welcome red roof of a Pokemon Center.   
  
“It looks like nobody’s been through here for weeks.” Orthos commented as the approached the center. “I wonder if the center’s still open. Doubt it, though…we could use a little rest…” Riara nodded. They turned the final corner, arriving at the building.  
  
It was, unfortunately, abandoned. The door shut and locked, lights off, and any sign of life long gone. “Damn…” Orthos muttered, fiddling with the door. “I wonder if there’s a key or something somewhere?” Riara looked at him doubtingly. “I know, I know, but we have to stop here anyway, so we don’t lose anything from trying to get in. Now, help me look.”  
  
They all searched the area, twilight rapidly setting in. As the final rays of sunlight began to fade, Renthar found the key hidden in a small pond some distance from the center. The key worked, opening the door without issue. Inside, the lights were off, and the place looked like it was abandoned months ago. After a little searching, though, Orthos found a note behind the counter.  
  
 _To whomever may find this, I apologize for hiding the key as I did, but I did not wish for this place to fall prey to passing scavengers. Hopefully you found the key because you needed shelter, and are not simply a persistent raider, in which case I would ask in vain that you leave my Pokemon center alone.  
  
I wish that I could stay here longer, but I have ran out of food, and will soon run out of hope. So, I will soon take with me what I can and make my way elsewhere,  
  
Please, take what you need, but please do not take more than that. Even now, Pokemon centers are places where people in need can come and find shelter and rest. Please respect the significance of this place’s role.  
  
Good luck. I may never know you, but I hope that this place will help you on your way, as it has for decades before the Frenzy began._  
  
Orthos set down the note, took out his notebook and left a note of his own.  
  
 _My name is Orthos, and I swear I will uphold the purpose of this place. And to those who would ignore the requests of this building’s rightful steward, know that you have violated his trust, and have made yourself the target of justice, which I will uphold until the end of my days!_  
  
He left the note next to the other, and proceeded to explore the abandoned center. While there was no food, water or electricity, he did find some much needed supplies. A few potions of various kinds, some rope, a basic first aid kit, and possibly most importantly, a collection of old, abandoned coats, certainly a welcome find after so many nights in the cold. He perused the collection of coats, trying on several, until he came to one in particular.  
  
“This…this is perfect…” He said as he felt the weathered but strong leather of the old trench coat. Pulling it out, he smelled the coat, and to his pleasure, it smelled not of sweat and grime, but of the quality leather used to make the coat. Putting it on, it fit well, and so the deal was sealed. He strode out of the room confidently, the coat billowing in his wake.  
  
With supplies and an absolutely ridiculous degree of class acquired, Orthos came to the healing machine. It lacked power, and while Riara could absolutely provide such power, he had no idea how he might harness it without destroying the machine which undoubtedly was incredibly valuable. “Anybody have any ideas on how we might get this thing running?” He asked.  
  
No ideas surfaced, though Joshua offered some rather useful advice. _I would suggest consulting someone familiar with such a device. It would be unwise to proceed without knowing what you are doing._  
  
“Hmm. A good plan. Now, let’s see…I don’t think I ever got the number of anyone working at a pokemon center…in fact, I’m a little alarmed at how many people gave me theirs when I was handing out those Pokegear upgrades. Still…” He pondered for a moment. “Wait, didn’t Elm have one of these? Maybe he knows how to make them work!”

* * *

 

“What we need is a nuerologist.” Elm muttered, looking over the notes they had on Hope. “We can run every scan and study we can think of, but the resistance is obviously biological, and both of us are specialists in behavior and evolution.”  
  
Oak was examining the shining bellsprout for the fiftieth time. “For heavens sake, we’re pokemon scientists! This is our specialty! What we really need is a proper lab, we lack the right equipment!”  
  
“Yes, but even if we did have the right equipment, we just don’t have to knowledge to figure out what’s going on even if we did.”  
  
Oak sighed. “I feel like we’ve been handed a diamond and do not have the means to cut it! This bellsprout is a godsend, and yet we can’t do anything with him!” Oak looked at the bellsprout, and frowned, “I’m sorry. We really are grateful to have you here. Hope? Wasn’t it?”  
  
The ever patient Pokémon nodded calmly. Oak stood and began pacing, muttering under his breath. Then, Elm’s phone rang. “Hello? Ah, Orthos, how are you? How is the egg?”  
  
“It’s alright, I think it might hatch soon. But I’m not just calling you this late without reason. I’m at the Pokémon center outside Union Tunnel, and I need to get the healing machine working. Power’s out, naturally.”  
  
“Well, without power you’re not really going to much success.”  
  
“I’ve got a Luxio over here who I’m sure would be happy to provide that power.”  
  
“Oh, well, in that case, here’s what you need to do…”

* * *

 

"I want all of you to know I find this highly demeaning." Riara growled as Orthos affixed wires to her.  
  
"But you look so good!" Renthar said with a smile, "Seriously though, lighten up a little. You're the only one who can do this, and it's kind of important."  
  
"That doesn't mean I have to like it"  
  
"It does mean that you ought to just clam up and deal with it." Kiran shot back at her.  
  
"Don't think you can tell me what to-"  
  
"Riara." Desmond interrupted from the corner of the room, "I get that ya find this annoying, but honestly, lass, ya really ought to just shut yer yap before someone else shuts it for ya. I for one 'ave considered givin' ya a lesson in humility ma'self."  
  
"Alright, that's done it, come on, everyone, let's get those wounds healed up!" Orthos declared as the machine started to sputter to life on just the energy Riara was producing passively. Orthos recalled everyone, and placed their pokeballs in the machine. "Alright, Riara, give it your all!"  
  
Somewhat reluctantly, Riara began growling deeply, causing her entire body to begin to electrify. The machine burst to life, and Orthos quickly started the healing process. "Nice, Riara, just keep it up for a bit longer, and we'll have everyone good as new!"  
  
The machine beeped, and Orthos carefully unclipped the wires from Riara's body. As he did so, Riara began growing more and more restless, until she finally burst out of his grasp and rushed out the door. Standing in the rain, she began growling, electricity arcing across her body. As the arcs grew, so too did the roar building within her, until at last she loosed a powerful howl, causing a massive blast of lightning that nearly blinded everyone watching. They watched as Riara, stood, panting in the pouring rain. As she walked back inside, she simply walked into a corner, curled up, and went to sleep, ignoring everyone's shocked gazes.

* * *

 

"The notices in the center said that the tunnel is fairly long but rather safe. Also says they've got a lighting system and that inky abyss certainly doesn't look all that well lit. Well, being a cave, we should probably lead with Kiran, and have Joshua as backup. They'll have no trouble with the darkness." Orthos said as they entered the cave.  
  
"Rooouwr!" Riara stepped forward, looking up at Orthos.  
  
"You want to lead? I mean, I know we have a light, but I'd rather have someone who can see in the dark lead."  
  
Kiran thumped his chest, making a heavy clunking noise. He was pointing at the pokedex on Orthos' belt.  
  
"Hmm? My pokedex..." Orthos pulled out the device, and saw Kiran pointed at Riara. He scanned her, reading the entry/ One section in particular seemed to stand out.  
  
 _..Though their vision is not nearly so developed as Luxray, Luxio still possess exceptional eyesight regardless of conditions, and are able to see equally well in complete darkness as they can in broad daylight..._  
  
Huh. I suppose I really ought to have read up on your dex info after you evolved. Alright, Riara, lead the way!"  
  
They entered the cave, Riara leading the way, and Kiran and Joshua by Orthos. The sound of gently running water filled the air with tranquil echoes. As they walked on, the abandoned lighting fixtures on the ceiling and floor served as reminders as to the tunnel's past as a oft traveled path. As Orthos passed them, however, all they did was cast shadows in the light of Orthos' Aubade Orb.  
  
Some two hours into the tunnel, Orthos stopped for a short break. As he distributed some of the last of his food, he thought about how peaceful their trek had been. "Can't help but wonder why it's so peaceful in here." He said as he reclined against a rock. "I mean, there are Pokemon down here, right? I kind of expected more a than a couple zubats, but everything else has been awfully docile."  
  
Aside from the sounds of rushing water, it was rather silent, but peaceful. Though the walls of the cave were always close, Orthos never felt like they were oppressive at all, rather unlike he felt when inside a cramped building. "Well, I suppose we ought to just count our blessings. Let's be off, th-"  
  
The ground trembled faintly. "Something's coming"  
  
The rumbling grew more intense, until it threw Orthos off his feet. "KEEP TOGETHER!" He shouted. Riara and Kiran rushed towards him, but before Riara could get there, a titanic stone beast burst out of the cavern's floor, screeching ferociously. Loose boulders tumbled down, blocking off Riara from the rest of the party. She was trapped, alone, with the Onix.  
  
"RIARA! WE'RE COMING!" Orthos yelled, desperately trying to scramble up the loose rock. He heard the Onix thrashing about, and Riara howling in pain. "Damnit, I can't get up these damn rocks!"  
  
Riara's cries began to weaken. Orthos clawed furiously at the rock, his hands searing with pain and starting to bleed from the constant abrasion. Then, Kiran bellowed a mighty roar, carrying words Orthos could not hear.   
  
"WHERE IS YOUR THUNDER? ARE YOU NOT THE MASTER OF THE STORMS?!" He bellowed, digging his claws into the ground as he mustered power inside himself. "EVEN THE MIGHTEST FOES YIELD IN THE FACE OF THE UNENDING STORM!"  
  
Riara was quiet, then, she roared with vengeance. "AS IF I MIGHT NEED YOU TO REMIND ME? BAH! I WILL SHOW THIS CREATURE WHAT IT MEANS TO CHALLENGE THE TEMPEST!" There was a loud cracking sound, as though a mighty boulder were beginning to break.  
  
Kiran smiled, his eyes glowing with barely contained power. He thrust his fists into the stone floor as though it were made of cardboard, and forced his power into the rock. It coursed forward, into the pile of debris Orthos was still trying to climb. The great stones within it burst apart, collapsing into a wave of gravel, flowing out of the way as Kiran willed the stone to part. Not questioning what had just occurred, Orthos rushed forward, witnessing the conclusion to the battle before him.  
  
The Onix fell, Riara clinging to its horn until the last moment, when she jumped off, tumbling across the cavern floor without an ounce of grace. Slowly, she rose, covered in injuries, but nonetheless victorious. Orthos rushed forward, going on and on about how glad he was that Riara was alright, but all she did was stare at Kiran, who gave a satisfied, proud smile.   
  
Riara smiled back.

* * *

 

Some time later, they emerged from the tunnel, exhausted relieved, and ready to see what awaited them in Azalea.


	9. Heroes

The rain poured down in sheets, swiftly rendering Orthos completely soaked, save for what his coat protected from the heavy rain. Even still, some splintered rays of the evening sun poured out of the parting clouds not far to the west. After so long in the cave, enveloped in darkness, those rays of light and the wispy rainbow they carried were a welcome sight. “Alright, Renthar, you ought to enjoy this.” Orthos said as he released the energetic Croconaw, who quickly began dashing about in the rain. Rather surprisingly, Kiran, who had always seemed to loathe being attacked with water, simply stood uncaring as the rain poured over his hardened skin. Riara, on the other hand seemed somewhat eager to get out of it, though that was likely more the result of her lingering injuries than anything.  
  
Not that she was much different than she had been the last couple hours. Ever since her run in with the Onix, she’d seemed thoroughly put off, letting Kiran take point and being utterly silent the entire way out of the tunnel.  
  
Orthos let Riara back into her pokeball, hoping some time alone would help her get through her sullen mood. He also released Desmond, figuring he might like a little rain as well. He seemed rather content, as he always was, half asleep as the rain poured over the broad leaves on his back. Orthos pointed westward dramatically and declared, “Now, onwards! We’re not far from Azalea, so let’s not delay any longer!” He began striding confidently towards the evening sun, rain be damned. Renthar and Desmond followed behind, though Desmond’s slow pace prompted Renthar to impatiently pick him up and carry him as he ran after Orthos  
  
Some twenty minutes later, the rain finally began to wane, just as twilight began to fall. Just as they were about to reach Azalea town, something more pertinent turned up. Two men, one old and the other dressed in a thick cloak, were arguing, and it seemed that their words might soon turn to violence.  
  
“I don’t care who you are, I’m telling you to get out of our town!” The old man demanded.  
  
“Get a hold of yourself before you piss me off, old man! You’re really close to making me do something you’ll regret!” The cloaked figure shouted in response.  
  
“Why don’t you go on ahead and try me, you half-wit whippersnapper! I’ll snap you in two!”  
  
“Alright, that’s it, elderly or no, I’m gonna cripple your decaying ass!”  
  
“Who’s makin’ all tha’ noise?” Desmond muttered sleepily.  
  
“Some old guy and a rather mysterious looking cloaked jerk.” Renthar replied casually.  
  
“Wait, cloaked? A black cloak?”  
  
“Looks like it. Coward’s probably trying to hide his face or something while he threatens old men.”  
  
Desmond snapped out of his drowse and narrowed his gaze. “Set me down, lad, we’ve got a bit a roughin’ up to do.”  
  
Orthos had seen enough as well. “Why don’t we go make our entrance before it’s too late! Come on!” He dashed atop the small ridge and stood heroically before laughing mightily. “AH HA HA HA! Would you look at that? A cowardly miscreant daring to threaten his elders in the presence of a hero? Not only that, but the look in his dumbfounded eyes reveals his arrogance in thinking he could possibly get away with such a crime! Oh, the very scene is nearly enough to bring a tear to my eyes...though far from enough to convince me that such an incompetent scoundrel is worth any shred of mercy. Renthar, Desmond, please demonstrate the fate of villains who dare to stand against justice. And make it quick.” He donned a wicked, mocking grin. “I’m a bit hungry, and it’s about time for dinner.”  
  
“Palkia’s name...who are you supposed to-URGK” The cloaked man was interrupted rather quickly as Renthar threw Desmond at him, knocking him to the ground. Desmond quickly wrapped him in thick vines and proceeded to hurl a wad of yellow powder at his face. The powder took effect quickly, the man’s attempts to struggle devolving into involuntary twitching as paralysis overtook him. Orthos came up and pulled a length of sturdy woven cord out of his pack. As he tied the ruffian up, the old man he’d saved walked up to him.  
  
“Er, uh, thank you, sonny. Though I still think I’d have whupped his sorry ass.” He said firmly  
  
“Well, do forgive my intrusion, but i wasn’t quite willing to risk letting you get hurt.” He secured his prisoner to a tree and turned, throwing his hand out to shake. “The name’s Orthos, and it’s my pleasure.”  
  
The old man smiled and gave Orthos a strong handshake. His hands were rough and strong, the hands of a craftsman. “Kurt Gante.” He said his name with a smile, “now, if you don’t mind me asking, where exactly did you come from anyway? Haven’t had anybody come through for months, unless you count these criminals.”  
  
“Hold on. These? There are more of them?”  
  
“Well, yes. They’re down in the well.” He pointed toward an old, decrepit looking well resting at the bottom of a rather large pit. “They’ve been nothing but trouble since they showed up a month ago, and Bugsy hasn’t seemed to even notice.”  
  
“A month ago...how many are there? And who’s Bugsy exactly?”  
  
“Oh, well, Bugsy’s the gym leader. Ever since everything went sour a year back he hardly ever leaves Ilex forest. Mighty fine time to abandon the town. Oh, right, them. They showed up out of nowhere, about five or six of them. They’ve been raiding food and supplies while they do Celibi knows what in that old well.”  
  
“Well, my good Kurt, as much as I’d like to tell you all about myself, I’m afraid that I need to address the somewhat more pressing matter of the den of thieves that have taken residence in your well, so I’m afraid further introductions will have to wait.” The prisoner secured, Orthos ran down to the well, recklessly careening down the wet, grassy slope. “Do head back to town and tell everyone that a hero’s shown up. I’ll be done with this rabble before nightfall, and we’ll be singing songs of glory until we drop! Tuzzah, my good man!” He slid down the ladder into the well without so much as a second thought.  
  
The well was old, to the point of being outright unusable. There was less than a foot of water where the ladder ended, and the water was scattered about in shallow pools on the stone floor. The air smelled of wet rock and mud, an earthy scent that seemed to smell stronger in the well than the drier Union caverns, as though the water made the smell of stone stronger. Aside from the narrow tunnel at one end of the small chamber, it seemed fairly innocuous, nothing threatening. Even still, there was something unsettling in the air that set Orthos’ nerves on edge. He couldn’t figure out why...until a memory flashed into his mind, reminding him all to well.  
  
The Ruins of Alph. He grabbed his arms as a wicked chill went through them, echoes of that unearthly pain he had felt resurfacing once again as those memories floated back into his mind for the dozenth time. His knees buckled, nearly making him fall into the shallow water. Fear crept into his mind, ordering him to retreat up the ladder lest he find himself faced with those unblinking, horrid eyes, those Unknown, once again. He began to tremble, slowly turning back towards the ladder.  
  
“Ah, ‘Ellfire, wha’s wrong with Orthos?” Desmond muttered, looking at his trainer in confusion.  
  
Renthar turned away from the crack in the wall and looked. Surprised, he declared, “He’s scared.”  
  
“Scared? Scared a’ what?” Desmond responded, surprised and a little confused at the idea of Orthos being so afraid.  
  
“Don’t you feel it? That dread in the air, like in those ruins just a few days ago?” he rushed towards Orthos, who was nearly at the ladder, arms trembling and eyes filled with fear. Renthar looked up at him, unsure of what to do with Orthos so fearful. He tugged on Orthos’ coat, trying to get his attention as he looked up with concern in his eyes.  
  
Orthos looked down, biting his lip, then grabbed Renthar and began muttering fearfully. “W-we have to get ou-out of here! They’re going to be back. They’re coming, the eyes, THE EYES!” Orthos’ rambling was scaring Renthar. Orthos had never been like this, and the look in his eyes, the look of a man gone mad, was far from comforting, particularly considering how much Renthar looked up to his trainer.  
  
“Orthos? Come on, man, snap out of it.” He said timidly.  
  
Some sound echoed out of the crack in the wall. Orthos snapped towards it, and began stuttering further. “Nononononono, not now, w-we have to go, WE HAVE TO GO! THEY’RE COMING, OH HELLFIRE, THE PAIN, the pain, the pain…no...nonononono…”  
  
Beginning to panic himself, Renthar tried to get Orthos to stop by blasting him in the face with water, but that only resulted in Orthos falling into the water, coughing and hacking water out of his hyperventilating lungs. Now breathing sporadically, rapidly alternating between strained gasps and hyperventilation, Orthos backed up against the wall, clutching his chest as his eyes darted around the room, seeing nonexistent nightmares in every shadowed corner of the dark well. Renthar walked up started shaking him, desperate to get him back. “Come on, Orthos, stop it! J-just snap out of it!” he begged.  
  
Renthar’s shaking only made Orthos worse. He drew his soaking wet legs in and huddled up, cowering. Renthar was about to start shaking him harder when a thick vine wrapped around him. It pulled him away, letting him see a wad of green power burst over Orthos’ face. His breathing quickly slowed as the sleep powder took effect, and soon enough, he was breathing calmly, not quite asleep, but completely calm. “Lad, ya really oughta just let ‘im have some space.” Desmond told Renthar calmly.  
  
“But...I just wanted to help…” Desmond responded solemnly.  
  
Desmond released him as he waddled closer, edging along the lower areas of the pool of water they stood in. “I know. ‘S Just tha yer shakin’ ain't exactly calmin’ him down. This kind ‘a thing needs a delicate touch.. Now, les just give ‘im a minute er two to think before we get movin, shall we?”  
  
They watched Orthos carefully, Renthar sitting right next to him, watching intently. As the sleep powder began to wear off, Orthos started looking around, his fear starting to resurface. Seeing this, Renthar placed his hands on Orthos’ shoulder and just looked at him calmly and caringly. Slowly, his breathing returned to normal, and soon after he was able to talk normally.  
  
“I...sorry, guys…” he spoke quietly, devoid of emotion. “Guess I kind of lost it there…” he steeled himself and stood somewhat weakly. The crazed, maddened fear was gone, leaving his mind empty, devoid of feeling. For a couple more minutes he stood there, breathing slowly, until he felt ready to move forward. “Come on, you two. We’ve got justice to serve.”  
  
They squeezed through the passage carefully and stealthily. Orthos’ gut tied into knots as the horrid feeling grew stronger, but this time he just forced through it. As much as he wished to just run, this was too important.  
  
They emerged into a sizable chamber, where they saw what they were looking for. Dotted about the cave were lighted spaces, where he could see people moving about. At the far end of the cavern, there was a much larger concentration of lights. It looked like there was some kind of tunnel, but it was too hard to tell for sure.  
  
“Alright boys, here’s the plan. We go in, we beat the hell out of everything in our way, and we do it before they even know we’re here.” Orthos said quietly. He started off, quietly slinking along the cave floor. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite go according to plan. He was spotted quickly, causing the entire cavern to burst into activity after someone sounded an alarm. “PLAN B!” Orthos shouted fiercely, all semblance of stealth thrown out the window. He quickly threw out every single member of the party and pointed forward dramatically. “LET’S SHOW THESE COWARDS THE MEANING OF JUSTICE! ONWAAAAAAAAAAAARDS!”  
  
They fell on the cloaked men like a hail of boulders, swiftly subduing the pokemon they had. Their trainers only barely managed to run off towards the back of the cave before they too were caught by the onslaught. Their advance remained nearly unopposed until, rather suddenly, there was a colossal blast from the far end of the cave, followed by the sound of boulders crashing onto the ground. Looking toward the end of the room, where there had once appeared to be a tunnel, all that could be seen was a massive pile of rubble. And standing in front of it was a man in a cloak that looked more worn than the others’. At his flanks were a colossal, four winged bat, and a floating creature that spewed wretched gasses. There were about 4 or 5 more people with him, but his presence was far more commanding. He turned to face Orthos.  
  
He gestured forward, and the Weezing beside him spewed a massive gout of the most vile liquid that could be concocted, a thick, virulent, toxic sludge that reeked of poison and death. All stopped quickly in their tracks, backing away from the wall of noxious fumes produced by the sludge. The cloaked man sent out another pokemon, a hypno, and said a single word. “Recall.” The hypno began channeling power. The man took out a device of some kind and pressed a button. Instantly, all the computers and machines they had set up, from the lights to the scanners, burst, overheated, or outright exploded, rendering them completely useless and utterly unsalvageable.  
  
Orthos was furious, but put on a mocking smile. “Look at that, he really is a coward, running off without even saying his name.” He scoffed.  
  
The cloaked man looked at Orthos harshly. “I’ve been given orders not to kill anyone.” He muttered. “Derreck. Make note that a bystander was injured in our withdrawal. It could not be avoided.” One of the other men responded affirmatively, speaking with no small degree of fear. The cloaked man threw forward several more pokemon, Koffings, and commanded them to attack Orthos.  
  
Kiran leapt forward, sensing the impending danger. He hurled shards of rock with tremendous force at the incoming Koffings, hitting two directly, which exploded on impact. The third, however, was stopped not by a piece of rock, but by Kiran leaping onto it, there being no time to find another projectile. Unable to support Kiran’s weight, it fell to the ground, where it quickly detonated. Kiran was blasted away, hitting first the ceiling some twelve feet above him, and secondly the ground, each time producing a crash nearly as loud as the explosion. Orthos rushed to Kiran, praying he was safe. Fortunately, he seemed to be alright, though his plating was cracked and chipped in several places from the force of both the blast and his impacts with the ceiling and floor. Where he was injured, Orthos noticed that the normal color of Kiran’s plating had faded to a dull grey, and the cast off chips of plate had gone from incredibly resilient armor to stone that crumbled in his hands. Kiran was a little weak, but ultimately alright. Orthos stood to face his assailant, but by the time the sound of the explosion had stopped echoing through the cavern, the hypno had successfully teleported the cloaked men away, leaving them alone in a cavern filled with broken machinery. He sighed, and began walking out.  
  
He paid the machines no mind, but could not help but notice the strength of that foreboding aura near the collapsed tunnel. The chills shooting up his spine only hurried his retreat from the accursed well.

* * *

 

Orthos walked into town exhausted and rather disappointed. Somehow, his captive from earlier had managed to escape, and with that on top of everyone in the well getting away, he was feeling rather unsuccessful. All that faded when he reached Azalea. There he found a number of people eagerly awaiting news of the supposed hero who promised to clear out the well. They met him and his party with welcome arms, celebrating him as a hero. He began telling the tale of their descent into the den of thieves, careful to leave out his panic attack and how he was not even able to fight their leader.  
  
As he told the story, he let everyone out of their pokeballs so they too could bask in the glory. It didn’t last as long as he might have hoped, though, as the revelry was cut short by a loud and unpleasant noise somewhere between a cough and grinding rock. It was followed by more coughing, coming from Kiran, who was coughing out clouds of crushed rock dust. Joshua floated forward, bearing a long winded message.  
  
 _I do hate to interrupt the festivities, but I’m afraid Riara is still injured from her spat with that Onix earlier, and Kiran would appear to be coughing the equivalent of his lungs out. I find it prudent that we address our wounds prior to our celebrations lest revelry become the cause of further complications._  
  
Orthos looked down at Kiran, who looked almost sickly, and Riara was still limping. He turned to the crowd and apologized. “I’m afraid that even the greatest of heroes must rest. And indeed, Kiran here, who threw himself before the oncoming Koffing to spare us their explosive wrath, is every bit the hero his actions show him to be! Come, let us dress our wounds and retire! The day has been long, and we all could use a night to rest in the knowledge that we have triumphed over our foes!”  
  
They went to the Pokemon center and had everyone checked in. Everyone seemed to be alright, though there was a slight problem with Kiran. The nurse running the center approached Orthos and explained. “We’ve done what we can, and I think he’s stable…”  
  
“You think?” Orthos responded curiously.  
  
“Well, yes. He’s not getting any worse, at any rate. He’s stopped, er, ‘bleeding’ that dust and has stopped coughing, but the damage to his body hasn’t healed at all.”  
  
“Wait, seriously? Why not?”  
  
“Please keep in mind that I have never seen a larvitar before. Sure, I’ve treated the odd geodude or onix, but...they’re different. There’s really nothing more I can do.”  
  
Orthos sighed. “Take me to him.”  
  
Moments later, he stood at the side of a small bed, with Kiran looking rather impatient and downright restless, like there was a constant itch he couldn’t scratch. He kept glancing at the window, more anxious than he’d ever been.  
  
“Hoy, Kiran, you all right, man? I heard you’re not healing right. Care to explain?”  
  
Kiran gave him a stern, rather sour look. Joshua, who had followed Orthos, gave him a message after a brief exchange between them. _It would seem to be even he doesn’t fully understand this predicament. He does however have a-_  
  
Joshua paused, laughing. _Kiran has requested that I relay his words directly, lest I provoke his ire...he said his instincts are telling him to go out and dig down, spend time surrounded by his native element, shall we say. The urge is rather strong, actually. I might suggest we allow him outside with all haste. If he’s kept in much longer I suspect he may end up digging straight through the floor._  
  
Orthos nodded. He looked at the nurse, expecting input. “Hey, it's worth a shot. Makes sense he’s have a better idea of how to take care of himself, really. He’s yours to handle, but let me know if anything changes, alright? I’ll have you know I’m recording this for prosperity." An odd look of excitement flashed across the nurse's face. "As I mentioned, treatment procedures for Larvitar haven’t been established, so I’m making the most of this opportunity to gather information and observe - Orthos?” Orthos and Kiran were long gone, having abandoned the conversation some time ago. She sighed, bemoaning how little everyone cares for medical research. Joshua, however, had not yet departed.  
  
 _If it would be of some assistance in your efforts, I would be happy to share my observations of his behavior with you. And, if I may add, kudos to you for recording your procedures, even now. Such practices will surely pay off in the pursuit of knowledge. Now, his diet consists largely of minerals he excavates…_

* * *

 

They chose to stay the night at Kurt’s home on the edge of town. A meal as harty as could be managed was had, far and away superior to the trail rations they’d all been eating the last several days. Orthos took hold of everyone’s attention as he and Renthar recounted their story to Kurt and his small family with as much drama and heroic posturing as possible.  
  
When they had all eaten their fill and heard all of Orthos’ story, they all set about relaxing with all due diligence. Kurt showed Orthos and Renthar the basics of making pokeballs, while Lyn found herself playing with Kurt’s young granddaughter. With Kiran buried somewhere outside Kurt’s house and Joshua elsewhere, Riara and Desmond found themselves in each other’s company, outside on the porch.  
  
“Ya seem restless, Riara” Desmond said as he approached the sullen Luxio.  
  
“Leave me be.” She muttered as she absently glared into the trees  
  
Desmond sat next to her, flopping down with a sizable thump. “Now tha’s no way ta talk to a concerned friend.” He said, “and no, I don' need yer approval, so ya best just give in an tell me wha’s on yer mind.”  
  
Riara glared at Desmond harshly, but even she felt calmer looking at his peaceful smile. “...fine. But if you tell anyone I’ll bite your ears off!” Desmond smiled, saying nothing. “Alright, in Union tunnel I was cut off from everyone and attacked by...an Onix I think? Whatever. It beat me into the ground, and if Kiran hadn’t stepped in I would have died.”  
  
“So yer upset that Kiran stepped inta yer fight?”  
  
“No...he was still on the other side of the cave in. I’m furious that I needed him to remind me of my own strength…” she paused. “...that I needed him to push away my fear.”  
  
“Riara, we all rely on each other ta be strong enough to overcome obstacles.”  
  
“Don’t you get it? I was strong enough, but I was afraid. In my fear, I forgot that I am strong enough to crack stone!”  
  
“Yer only as strong as ya are when yer at your weakest, when yer afraid, or alone, or anything else, **when ya need help**. Ya don’ rely on others when yer at yer best, ya lean on them when yer own strength isn’t enough, ‘cause it won’t always be enough, and ya’d have to be fool to think ya can make it through everything on yer own.”  
  
Riara began to object, but quickly found she had nothing to say, so she resigned to looking downward, refusing to acknowledge Desmond’s words. Desmond smiled, knowing, without doubt, that he had been heard.   
  
He moved a little closer, and placed a vine on Riara’s shoulder. “Ah, come on, ya big, angry ball a’ fluff, we’re here for ya.” As he had hoped, Riara didn’t fight back. In fact, she seemed to relax a little bit. They sat there, gazing not out into nothing but up at the stars. As they were beginning to fall asleep, Desmond whispered to her, “ya don’ have ta be alone anymore.”  
  
They slept soundly, huddled together on the porch, under the stars.

* * *

 

“So, the entrance is locked, then.” Orthos said as he looked over the doors of the gatehouse. Being the only real way to get into the forest, he didn’t have too many options.  
  
“Yeah, Bugsy’s had the whole forest locked up for months. Hardly ever leaves the damn place.” Kurt told him with a hint of anger in his voice, though there was also some degree of concern.  
  
Orthos tugged at the doors, but they were locked tight. He sighed, knowing he couldn’t possibly break through the heavy metal doors. So, he turned to the rest of the structure. The walls were rough, but far from climbable, and by all accounts there was no way to get around it, what with the slick stone wall running around the edge of the forest. There was, however, a sturdy looking weather vane atop the building. Orthos pulled out a length of rope, tied a stone to the end, and began trying to throw it around the weathervane, with limited success.  
  
After a few failed attempts, Desmond just grabbed the rope and threaded it around the vane with his long vines, and handed the rope to Orthos with a grin. Orthos took the rope and immediately began ascending the building.  
  
“Why exactly are you doing this again? Bugsy’s been pretty adamant about nobody being allowed in the forest.” Kurt asked as Orthos neared the top.  
  
“Simple...I’ve got questions to ask him! By your account, he’s pretty much abandoned the town, and I want to know what he’s been up to.” Orthos heaved himself over the edge of the roof with a hearty grunt of exertion. “And I’d also like to challenge him. He’s a gym leader, right?”  
  
Kurt sighed. “Well, just be careful, alright? Bugsy might have left us to our own devices, but I don’t think he’ll have locked up the forest for no reason.”  
  
Orthos saluted Kurt and walked across the roof, where he managed to jump into the branches of a nearby tree and climb down, With Desmond close behind him.  
  
The forest was incredibly thick, the midday sun reduced to a spattering of light by the branches of massive trees. More than any wood he had been in before, this place felt alive, with vibrant mosses and vines snaking up the trunks of the mighty trees that had stood for centuries. The sounds of distant birds, bugs and other wildlife constantly poured out of the background, forming a sort of music, the song of the wild forest.  
  
For a moment, Desmond and Orthos just stood, listening to the song and taking in all nature had to offer, from the vibrant colors of the woods to the rich bouquet of aromas that hung in the air, a powerful mixture of exotic, unknown scents that came together to form a smell that reminded them that the forest was alive and vibrant.  
  
When Orthos' thirst for adventure finally overcame his desire for serenity, he ventured into the woods, eager to find what secrets it held.  
  
Their journey was far from undisturbed, however. As they ventured into the forest, the wild Pokemon became more numerous and more aggressive. It came to the point where they were almost constantly fighting back Weedles, Caterpie, Spinnerack, and more and more often, Beedrill.  
  
"Holy Hellfire, what is going on! I've never seen any Pokemon this aggressive before!" Orthos declared in frustration as Desmond casually threw aside a pair of errant Weedles. "It's like the Frenzy is stronger here for some reason...wait, that might actually be it." He took out the scanner and activated it, and as he suspected, the frenzy was significantly more powerful than anywhere else. And by the look of it, the source was close. "Alright...let's see if we can do here what we couldn't do in Violet. Come on, Desmond, we're close!" He dashed into the woods, Desmond plodding along after him.  
  
Some time later, they reached a particularly dense area of the woods where the vibrant life of the forest seemed to fade, the sounds of nature replaced by an eerie silence. Orthos had a bad feeling about the place, but he was too close to back off now. He pressed on.  
  
"It's somewhere around here..." He muttered, wondering if the intensity of the signal was making it harder to pinpoint. As they walked, Orthos began to notice something. The smell of the air had changed. What was once a rich variety of scents had been replaced with a single overpowering aroma.  
  
The smell of honey, rich, sweet, and heavy. "Good gods, I love honey as much as the next guy, but the smell of it here is just unreal! I mean, why does it smell so strongly of honey anyway? It's like..." He heard a slowly building buzzing noise that filled him with dread. "Like we're...in a beehive..." He looked up, seeing the faint silhouettes of massive insects climbing out of their nests in the trees. "Run."  
  
He took off running, Desmond following as best he could. The buzzing grew into an overpowering din as dozens of Beedrill flew out the trees. They descended like wrathful demons, striking without mercy.  
  
Surprisingly, Orthos seemed to be outrunning the angry swarm. However, his triumph was squashed when the pained cries of Desmond revealed why he had escaped the swarm's wrath. All of them were attacking Desmond. He fought desperately, but could not hope to fend off the wrathful swarm.  
  
"Desmond, hold on, I'm coming!" Orthos shouted as he retrieved Desmond's pokeball, running blindly forward. Several of the Beedrill broke off of Desmond and flew after Orthos, stingers dripping with virulent toxins.  
  
Still, Orthos ran forward, desperate to get close enough to return Desmond, who was now limp, fallen by the roots of one of the great trees. Just as the Beedrill were about to reach him, a fierce blast of wind slammed into them, sending the reeling. A nimble green Pokemon leapt out of the undergrowth at the Beedrill, fighting furiously with razor sharp blades. A Scyther had come to Orthos' aid, fighting back the bugs. Orthos kept rushing forward, but was tackled by a Heracross that had been hiding in the bushes. It grabbed Orthos and beat its wings as hard as it could, rapidly carrying Orthos away from the Beedrill.  
  
But Orthos would have none of it. "NO! NO! GO BACK, GO BACK, DESMOND IS STILL IN THERE, I HAVE TO HELP HIM!" He screamed, struggling in vain against the beetle's grasp. "DESMOOOONND!"

Some minutes after Desmond's body faded from Orthos' view, the Heracross unceremoniously dumped Orthos on the ground. As he began to stand, a young man with vibrant purple hair seized Orthos by his coat and heaved him up, bringing him face to face with the most furious man Orthos had seen since his encounter with the sage in Sprout Tower.  
  
"WHAT IN CELEBI’S' NAME DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" The young man bellowed furiously, "you ignore every warning, and just decide to waltz into the woods, fine! I can manage that, if not save your sorry ass from your own idiocy while I'm at it! But that just wasn't enough, was it? You had to go and disturb THE LARGEST BEEDRILL HIVE EVER DISCOVERED!"  
  
He threw Orthos to the ground, fuming. "What about...Desmond?" Orthos coughed out.  
  
The purlle haired youth stared Orthos in the eyes through his heavy goggles. "Your Ivysaur was already doomed by the time Terrace and Gregor got you out of there." He growled. "And don't try to pin this on me, I can tell you already think this is somehow my fault. That because I didn't chase off dozens of raging Beedrill to save the corpse of your Pokemon, its death is somehow on my head. **You're wrong**. Your friend's death is on your hands. He died because you were too stupid to stay out of the forest in spite of every warning thrown at you. This is your fault. Now do me a favor and get out back to Azalea so I can figure out what to do about the catastrophe you just caused."  
  
Orthos stood, watching the young man pace back and forth. "You're Bugsy, aren't you." He said coldly. "Did you know that team rocket was waltzing through town unopposed while you dawdled here in the woods?"  
  
"Why yes, I am 'Bugsy'." The gym leader said as he slowly turned to face Orthos. "And yes, I was aware that a few lowlife opportunists were holed up in the old well."  
  
"Then why didn't you do anything!"  
  
Bugsy walked up to Orthos, a hardened scowl on his face. "Spinnerak bite: severe swelling and intense pain for 4 to 10 days, during which time the victim is at significant risk of further infection." He said methodically, as though reciting from a textbook.  
  
"What?" Orthos exclaimed in confusion.  
  
"Wurple sting: high fever and delirium lasting for up to two weeks. If not handled properly, can lead to death from the severe fever. Weedle sting: causes muscles to lock up and spasm uncontrollably, often resulting in severe muscle damage and even death. Beedrill sting. Muscles lock up and spasm, and toxins severely hamper the blood's ability to take in oxygen, resulting in death within minutes of injection."  
  
Orthos was silent, beginning to understand what was going on. "You may have noticed that this forest is crawling with thousands of incredibly venomous bugs. Take a second to think about what would happen if I wasn't keeping them in check." Images of insects swarming into Azalea flashing through Orthos' mind. " **I'm the only damn reason Azalea still exists**. Now, as I said, I have a swarm to calm down somehow. Just get your sorry ass out of the woods and consider thinking before you jump into mortal danger in the future." With that, Bugsy left, his Pokemon close behind him, leaving Orthos to grieve alone.  
  
For a moment, he really was alone, crying under his breath. But he remembered he still had his other companions. He called all of them out, and told them what happened.  
  
He told them Desmond died because of him.


	10. Broken

A clawed hand breached the ground, grasping for something to hold. Reaching skyward, its hardened claws seemed to gleam in the bright sunlight like the edges of blades. As suddenly as it had appeared, it bent down, slamming into the ground like a pickaxe into stone, allowing it to pull up the rest of its mighty form. The ground fell away like flakes of ash as it rose, unimpeded by the weight of stone’s embrace. Finally free from slumber, it gazed onward, losing a mighty cry…  
  
“GRRAAAAU-*COUGH HACK HACK COUGH WHEEZE* GUHUAAAG...uuuugh…mother of madness, how long was I out?” Kiran sputtered as he collapsed to the ground with a fit of coughing. He looked around, his vision blurry and not exactly in agreement with how bright it was. As he grunted and groaned to a standing position, Lyn flew up to him, quite easily noticing his rather loud outburst.  
  
“Kiran, you’re awake! Are you alright? Orthos has been so worried about you ever since-”  
  
“I’m fine, Lyn, just took a moment to remember how the Hell to breathe. How long was I out?”  
  
Lyn fluttered a moment, putting together the last couple days. “You’ve been down there for two days now.”  
  
 _Feels like a lot longer than that…_ Kiran thought. “Right. Now, uh, you said Orthos was worried about me?”  
  
“Yeah...he’s been really worried about you ever since...since…” she looked down, tears in her eyes, “since...the forest…”  
  
Kiran’s eyes widened. Calmly, trying not to upset her, he asked, “Lyn. What happened?”  
  
Tears poured out of her eyes as she tried to speak, but her sobs could not be contained. Kiran thought of trying to calm her down, but couldn’t so much as think of a single way to go about it. One way or another, Lyn managed to calm down enough to speak, of only through choked back sobbing. “Desmond...he...he’s gone…”  
  
Kiran froze.

His mind raced in ten directions all at once, each thought tugging at the pillar of stoicism that kept him in control, that stern, careful and calculated center that kept his rage from overtaking him.  
  
He blinked. The pillar began to tremble.  
  
His hands started to shake. The pillar cracked.  
  
Loose pieces of dirt and rock around him shook, and the ground seemed to tremble.  
  
The pillar buckled, held for a single moment, then came crashing down under the tremendous weight of fury, rage, and woe.  
  
“GRRYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRG!” Kiran bellowed with unmatched intensity, far louder than a creature of his size should have been capable of. Lyn looked at him, terrified. She backed away, timidly asking if he was alright.  
  
She received no answer. Kiran howled, digging his hands into the ground and pulling out a large chunk of stone which he promptly hurled at a nearby tree with enough force to snap bones. He began advancing on the tree, pulling stones out of the ground every few steps and hurling them at the tree as he wailed and roared.  
  
Stone after rock after boulder he hurled, until his claws found purchase in the strong wood. As he tore into the innocent tree, his bellowing wail of rage and despair began to form into words.  
  
“DAMNIT, DAMNIT DAMNITDAMNITDAMNIDAMNDAMNDAMMRRRAAAAAARRGH! FIRE AND DAMNATION, HE DIED, GONE, FINISHED, FOREVER TAKEN WHILE I SLEPT, LICKING MY HELL DAMNED WOUNDS UNDER THE GODS FORSAKEN GROUND!” His claws tore into the tree, not shaving the wood or breaking off chips, but tearing out chunks of wood with every swipe of his vicious claws.   
  
He clawed and thrashed until, at last, the poor tree fell over, it's foot and a half thick trunk utterly decimated in only a few minutes. “If...if I had just been a little stronger...wouldn’t...wouldn’t have needed to rest...could have...could have...saved…” He fell the the ground, consciousness fading rapidly. _No...no, I can’t...have to...stay...awake...protect..._  
  
He vaguely heard something coming towards him. Orthos...desperately asking if he was all right. He tried to respond, but sleep was overtaking him. His rage had left him empty, of both energy and purpose. Orthos heaved him up, and looked Kiran in the eyes as tears gushed out of his own.  
  
“Kiran...stay with me...I need you...I...I can’t lose you too…” he said desperately, terrified that if Kiran closed his eyes they may never open again. He knew that was irrational, that he was probably still exhausted, that his outburst was too much for him.  
  
But reason didn’t matter. All he knew was the fear of losing someone more.  
  
Kiran could barely hear Orthos, but what he heard was enough. Something deep inside him saw Orthos in despair and began to burn with blazing passion. He rose out of the shadows of rage, returning to consciousness so he could do something important.  
  
He decked Orthos in the face.  
  
“I’M FINE, ORTHOS.” Kiran half-shouted at him. “Good gods, I just need a damn nap…”  
  
Though Orthis could not understand what Kiran said, his meaning was fairly clear. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “I’m sorry...Kiran...it’s just...Desmond...he died. Because I was a fool. I shouldn’t have gone into the forest. I should have been out there with Joshua...I’ve thought of a thousand ways I could have saved him. A thousand ways he could still be here...And I blame myself for every single one.” He looked off to the side, towards the forest. “Everyone says I shouldn’t be so hard on myself. ‘It’s not your fault’...’how could you have known’...’these things happen’...the Hell do they know...they don’t get how painful this is.” He paused, thinking back on the last few days. “I can only remember, what, a couple weeks of time? And most of that time was spent travelling. You guys are all I have. My every memory has been with you all, my only companions in my quest to do the impossible.”  
  
He stood slowly, turning away from Kiran. “I’m not enough. I can’t fight. I can’t protect you. I haven’t managed to do a damn thing about the Frenzy…I’m just...not strong enough…”  
  
Orthos walked away in despair, Leaving Kiran alone.  
  
Silently, Kiran stood, trying to push his rage away, but it would not be denied. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, and forced his focus away from his tumultuous, storming emotions and drove it into the ground.  
  
He felt it all. Every rock, every gem, every speck of dirt, all laid out as easy for him to see as the tree he had destroyed. The chunk of limestone some twenty feet below, the sandstone deposit further below that, and every tiny bit of quartz, jade, obsidian, flint, and amethyst. He reached downward, grasping with his mind a quartz crystal well beyond his usual range, more than forty feet down, and began pulling it up. He strained, forcing the crystal upward faster and faster until it breached the surface and flew directly into Kiran’s clenched fist, which crushed the crystal immediately.  
  
“If you aren’t strong enough...then become stronger.” He spoke firmly to himself. “WE BEGIN TRAINING NOW!” He bellowed.

* * *

 

“Ow, ow, ow, ow...dangit, ow…” Renthar muttered painfully, sitting under a tree near the stone wall around the forest. sitting under a tree not far from the stone wall around Ilex forest. Clutching his hands to his chest, crying under his breath. He poured out a gush of water over his hands, washing away some of the blood on his knuckles, but the pouring water also stung the raw wounds he got from punching the hard stone wall.  
  
Kiran’s mighty voice boomed in the distance, something about training. Renthar didn’t hear. He sat, crying, both from the pain in his hands and the pain in his heart.  
  
“Renthar? Is that you?” Lyn’s voice called from above. “Oh my goodness, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you all day!” She declared with relief as she flew down to Renthar’s side. As she did, she saw the blood clinging to his hands, and the tears pouring down his face. “Oh, Renthar, what happened?” She asked, deeply concerned.  
  
Renthar tried to answer, but could barely say anything between his sobbing and the pain in his hands. Lyn saw this clearly, and promptly flew off hurriedly in search of something. She soon returned clutching a broad leaf and a large blue berry in her talons. She placed the leaf on the ground and carefully squeeze the berry’s thick juices over it. “Renthar. Hold out your hands.” She said calmly. He only clutched them closer, afraid they might get hurt more. “Hey, It’s okay, this is going to make it feel better. Don’t worry…” she spoke calmly, soothingly. Slowly, Renthar held out his hands, covered in blood. “Do you think you can rinse them off? This’ll work better if they’re clean.” Renthar jerked his hands back, but Lyn put her wing on his shoulder and reassured him. “Don’t worry, Renthar, you’ll be okay. I know it hurts, but I’m here to help.” With some hesitation, Renthar poured out another gush of water. He cringed, but bore with it as Lyn retrieved the leaf, now soaked through with oran berry juice. Renthar held out his hands, and Lyn carefully laid the leaf over them like a blanket. “There, that wasn’t so bad...does it feel better?” Renthar nodded, still crying.  
  
Lyn stood next to him, her wing around Renthar. “That’s good. Just let it sit, and it’ll help you heal.” Renthar tried to say something, choking back sobs, but Lyn interrupted. “Don’t try to talk. Let yourself cry a little. Don’t hold it back, alright?” Renthar went from choking back sobs to openly weeping, letting himself be sad. “Don’t be like Kiran and Riara...they keep bottling everything up. I mean, I guess Kiran let out some of that anger, but...They won’t let themselves be sad. That...that isn’t good. When sad things happen, you just have to let yourself be sad, or else you’ll never be able to move beyond it.” She looked at Renthar and sighed. “I’m sorry, I’m just rambling...do you want some time alone?”  
  
Renthar managed to choke out a few words in desperate response. “N-no, please, *sniff*, don’t go…”  
  
Lyn smiled, drawing herself a little closer. “Don’t worry, I won’t leave.” She said softly. _I need you as much as you need me...someone to hold on to…_  
  
Renthar kept crying, and Lyn kept comforting him, until Renthar’s tears finally began to slow. “Are you feeling better?” Lyn asked him.  
  
“Y-yes, but...no...I don’t know…” Renthar said quietly. “I’m not crying so much, but...I still feel so sad, and angry, and...confused. It’s like...like I don’t even know what to feel. I’m sad that Desmond’s gone, but I’m angry that Orthos couldn’t save him, even though I know he tried, but I’m still so mad! I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know why I’m so confused, I don’t know why I punched the wall so many times, I just don’t know anything at ALL!” He started into another fit of crying.  
  
“Renthar...I don’t know how to feel either. What I do know, though, is that it’s okay to feel confused right now. I don’t think it would be normal to know how to feel after losing a friend, and, well, this is probably the first time you’ve lost someone, huh.”  
  
“I don’t know.”  
  
“You don’t know?”  
  
“I don’t know if I’ve lost anyone before. I can’t remember anything before meeting Orthos.”  
  
 _WHAT?_ Lyn nearly doubled over. _Him too? But then...why…no, I can’t worry about that. **He needs me.**_ She took a deep breath, and, very quietly, told Renthar a secret. “Hey, you know what?”  
  
“I can’t remember either.”

* * *

 

“Where are they…” Kiran muttered as he walked about Kurt’s rather prodigiously large property. “We have to get back to training. No sense moping about when we ought to be-”  
  
High up in a tree, he spotted the yellow star on Riara’s tail idly flicking about. Running closer, he called to her. “Riara! Didn’t you hear me? We need to get back to training!”  
  
Riara ignored him, staring into nothing, engulfed in her brooding thoughts and the grief that drove them.  
  
Kiran sighed. “You can’t just sit there moping forever! What happened was-”  
  
“Can’t you tell when you’re not wanted?” Riara growled, glaring at Kiran with the foulest look he’d ever seen. Chills ran up his spine, and he actually froze for a moment in fear.  
  
Kiran clenched his fists. “The Hell, Riara? I’m not...guh...alright, look, let’s...let’s just talk, okay?” Kiran stuttered as he forced his rising anger back into the corner of his mind. He sat down, trying and failing to look relaxed. “Just...tell me what’s wrong.”  
  
Riara looked at Kiran incredulously, the question seeming beyond absurd. “How could you not know? HE’S DEAD! Desmond is gone!” She shouted at him.  
  
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, that’s not what I meant! I mean...why is losing him so...ugh, damnit.” Kiran sat, muttering to himself while Riara sulked back to her thoughts. Rather impatiently, Kiran interrupter her thoughts. “Well? What’s wrong?”  
  
“WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP!?” Riara howled. “You think this is easy? Trying to talk about losing the only person who ever tried to open up to me?” Sadness in her eyes, Riara went silent a moment. “And he got me to open up to him. He said...said I wouldn’t have to be alone anymore…”  
  
Kiran spent a moment processing her words. “So...you’re lonely?” He asked, rather confused. “You push away anyone who tries to get near you, and then you complain about being lonely? Seems like you’ve brought this on yourself! Honestly, the solution here seems pathetically simple-”  
  
“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” Riara screamed as tears welled in her eyes. “YOU ASK ME TO TELL YOU HOW I FEEL AND THEN YOU TELL ME I’M STUPID FOR FEELING THAT WAY? MY GODS WHY DO I EVEN TRY!” She jumped out of the tree, electricity arcing in her wake as she ran off.   
  
Kiran stared, bewildered. “WHAT IN ALL HELLFIRE DID I SAY?!”

* * *

 

Moonlight shone bright over Azalea. Joshua floated gently over the trees, deep in contemplation. Desmond’s untimely demise had only caused him to sink deeper into the questions that haunted his mind.   
  
The Ruins of Alph. What did it all mean? What was “The Unknowable”? What, in turn, were the Unknown? Were they related? And why did those voices speak to them?  
  
Did the words they saw in the Unknown have meaning?  
  
The Well, and the men inside it. Why were they there? What connection did that place have to the Ruins?  
  
These and many other questions bounced about in his mind. He hungered for truth, hoping that answers to these questions might somehow take away the pain, but he knew perfectly well he was just distracting himself. Desmond was gone.  
  
He would manage. The pain gave him purpose. He had been watching the others, as they worked through the loss, but knew he could not do as they had. His emotions were wrapped in questions nobody wanted to ponder. Truths he knew none of his companions wished to face. To speak with them would force him to open their scarcely closing wounds with his incessant search for answers and force upon them burning questions like salt into their wounds.  
  
No, he would stay quiet. Let the pain that seared within him drive him forward to find the truth he sought.  
  
Emotions could wait. Every second they spent wallowing in ignorance set them back farther than any of them could realize. He had to find the truth, if not for himself…  
  
Then for them.


	11. Remember

"Orthos, m'boy, you really oughtta stop beating yourself up about Desmond." Kurt told Orthos, who was sitting on the craftsman's porch, for the third day in a row since Kiran had woken up, watching his companions train.  
  
Kiran was, as he often did, leading the group in their efforts, making sure they gave their all, and sharing his unusually deep knowledge of close combat fighting with those of his party who would listen, a group limited to Renthar and Lyn. Riara had taken to training on her own, as far from Kiran as possible. Orthos sighed, glad that Kiran's determination was stronger than his own. "I know...it's just...dammit. I keep going over the ten thousand ways I could have prevented it. Every time I try to push it out of my mind, I remember him crying out...his final cry for help...I remember how close I was to saving him."  
  
Kurt sat down next to Orthos. "Listen...I'm not going to pretend I know how you feel, but when you've been around as long as I have, you learn a thing or two about grief. One of those things is that you shouldn't try to forget. In fact, I think the most important thing you could do is to remember. Not the sad things, but all the good times you had." Orthos was silent. "Tell me...have you had a ceremony yet?"  
  
"His body is still out there. I won't risk losing anyone else going back into that accursed forest."  
  
"I didn't ask if you'd buried him, I asked if you'd had a ceremony. It might give you the closure you need." He gave Orthos a hearty pat on the back. "I'll help you put it together, alright? We'll put up something in his memory."  
  
Orthos nodded. Somehow, it felt right to have a ceremony. He started thinking about how to best remember Desmond, that sleepy little guy who'd been his friend for a few days that felt like a year.

* * *

 

The next day, Orthos and the team, Kurt and Bugsy all gathered around the shrine of the forest's guardian. It had taken some convincing for Bugsy to allow them back into the forest, but he agreed so long as he was there to stand watch.  
  
The shrine, dedicated to Celebi, Protector of the forest, was simple, save for the bell mounted atop it. The bell was hardly noteworthy on its own, but by the way it was mounted, there was no way for it to ring, as it was fixed in place. Orthos looked over the shrine. It seemed a good place to hold the ceremony, by Kurt's descriptions. Looking at it, he felt something odd inside him, a sort of...calm. He tapped the bell, but no sound was heard beyond a dull thump. "They say that the bell only rings when Celebi wakes. Course, it's always been silent as long as I've been around, but one can't help but wonder." Kurt said from behind Orthos. "Now, let's start this off. No point in waiting, I'd say." Orthos nodded.  
  
Renthar cleared a spot in the grass beneath the shrine and Kiran walked forward, a large, smooth stone of solid granite on his shoulders. He placed the carefully sculpted stone beneath the shrine, and stood back, silently reading the inscription.  
  
 _In memory of Desmond_  
Friend and Hero  
May he find rest in the beyond.  
  
"You know, I'm not really sure how a funeral is supposed to go." Orthos began, "so I guess I'll just do what comes naturally. Kurt, you told me to remember, so I suppose...I'll tell a story. It began at Sprout Tower, in Violet City, with a sour old coward and a brave, sleepy little Bulbasaur..."

* * *

 

At the conclusion of the tale, all stood silent. "May we never forget his story!" Orthos declared, some amount of his enthusiasm having returned. Kurt put his hand on Orthos' shoulder.  
  
"You're still welcome in my home, but I think you've got grander ideas than staying with me." He did not wait for a response, simply putting his hat back on and walking down the path back to Azalea. Silently, Orthos looked at the grave. The story he had told echoed in his mind, a reminder of why Desmond had been such a friend.  
  
Bugsy was the first to break the silence. "Orthos. I want to apologize." He said earnestly.  
  
"You know it wasn't your fault as well as I do." Orthos said calmly, not breaking his gaze away from the gravestone.  
  
"I do. I wanted to apologize for what I said. You may have been an idiot walking into the forest, and what happened is still on you, but...even still...what I said was completely uncalled for. You’d just lost someone and I was twisting the knife. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry for your loss."  
  
Orthos smiled and looked skyward. "Desmond never really liked being awake anyway...you know, while I have your attention, you are a gym leader, are you not? I'd like to challenge you."  
  
Bugsy gave Orthos a surprised look. "I don't know, I don't think it would be a good idea to take anyone off of watch...though by the sound of it, things are fairly quiet right now..."  
  
"You know, a while ago I heard someone say that we can't afford to lose ourselves in times of crisis. We have to anchor ourselves to who we were, and who we will be when we overcome the trials placed before us."  
  
"That...that's probably right. Who told you that?"  
  
"Well, I remember hearing something like it from a man by the name of ‘Mr Pokemon’, but I think it's been echoing around in my head for a lot longer than that. I have amnesia, so I can't say I can place where those words are coming from, but they just feel right."  
  
Bugsy looked at the scyther beside him. Terrace looked ready for a real chance to test his skill. "I miss the days before all this...I'd take people on tours, showing them the wonders of Ilex. And of course, every now and then I'd have challengers...it'd be good to go back to that…” He looked skyward. ”Ever since I was a kid I’ve loved this forest, and having to watch it turn into a nightmare..." He looked up at the trees. Looking to his Pokemon, he remembered those battles he had fought before it all started...and the joy he used to have. "Alright, I'll accept your challenge, but with a few conditions. First, I really can't afford to pull all of my best off of sentry, so I'm limiting this to three on three. Second, we fight to first blood, three rounds. Don't want anyone getting injured in case something comes up. And third, we call Kurt back out here to ref. he might not look like much, but he's got a good eye for this."  
  
"Very well." Orthos replied with a wave of his hand. "Though your conditions be many, I could never refuse an opportunity to test my prowess! We will meet in glorious battle!" He was beaming, the fire in his heart rekindled.

* * *

 

"Alright, boys, you got your teams ready?" Kurt said with a smile, wearing his decades old cap that designated him an official Pokemon league referee. "Remember, three rounds, both of you switching out each one. Best of three will be the victor!" Kurt was beaming, reliving a part of his distant youth.  
  
Bugsy stood, flanked by his Scyther, a Butterfree and his Heracross, while Orthos had with him Kiran, Renthar and Lyn. Kurt raised his arm, and signaled the start of the match. Lyn and Bugsy’s Heracross came into the center of the field, and stared each other down.  
  
  
“Oy! Would like to make with the speaking!” The Heracross declared.  
  
Lyn took a second to piece together what he had said. “Uh, sure, speak away.”  
  
  
“What’s your Heracross doing exactly?” Orthos asked Bugsy as their partners exchanged chirps and clicks.  
  
“Heracross always do this with any formal match. It’s a matter of honor to speak with their opponent as a friend, sort of a reminder that it’s a friendly battle.” Bugsy replied, somewhat distracted, his attention elsewhere. Orthos smiled and watched Lyn speak with her opponent.  
  
  
The Heracross walked closer. “Many sorrows in your heart, and tears in your eyes. Desmond was good friend, no? Gregor’s heart is filled with grieving.”  
  
“Oh, um, thank you.” Lyn said solemnly. “And...thanks for saving Orthos.”  
  
Gregor smiled, “Pleasure all mine, but wish that Desmond could be saved also. Ah, but let us not marr this match with our grieving! Come, we shall battle, in honor of fallen friend!” He jumped back, taking on a battle stance.  
  
“Oh, uh, right, the battle.” Lyn prepared to take off, and recalled Kiran’s lessons. _Focus. Be aware of every movement, and always have a plan._ She sighed, resenting that she had to fight at all, but nonetheless she prepared for battle.  
  
“Well, I suppose if our fighters’ve said their fill, we may as well get this underway!” Kurt declared. “Round one, begin!”  
  
Lyn took to the air, planning to use her air superiority to best Gregor, but she quickly found him more than capable of keeping up. He moved with surprising speed and precision, easily able to keep up with Lyn’s darting movements in spite of his apparent disadvantages.  
  
They danced about in the air, narrowly dodging blows as they flew around the clearing. Lyn began to panic, her plan having fallen through completely. She dove into the trees, nimbly dodging between branches, but Gregor simply laughed as he crashed through the obstacles with ease.   
  
_It’s just a friendly match, he isn’t going to hurt me, it’s just a friendly match, he isn’t going to hurt me...but Orthos is counting on me!_ She narrowly dodged a swipe from Gregor’s claws, acting on pure instinct. _I have to figure out a way to turn this around!_  
  
Throwing her wings against the air, she suddenly changed directions, throwing herself to the side. As she did, she saw how long Gregor took to change directions. A plan began to form. She began a sweep to one end of the clearing, drawing Gregor behind her. Then, she flew straight ahead, knowing well that he would quickly catch up to her.  
  
Lyn closed her eyes. All the thinking and planning in the world couldn’t make this work. Instead, she trusted her instincts, and trusted the wind. She pushed out the buzzing of Gregor’s wings, the cheering of Orthos and Renthar, and heard nothing besides the rush of the wind around her.  
  
 ** _Now._**  
  
In an instant, Lyn threw her wings forward, pushing off an updraft. She moved upward, Gregor’s horn passing just beneath her. Whirling, she thrusted her wing downward not knowing if her aim was true, heeding not her sight or hearing but the instincts inside her, and the guidance of the wind.  
  
Gregor slammed into the ground at speed, sliding some distance before hitting a tree square in the face. He groaned, rubbing where Lyn had hit her, right between his wings. The blow was hard enough on its own, but she’d hit an exposed nerve. His wings had seized up completely, freezing in place and throwing him to the ground. He stood up and turned to see Lyn resting on the ground, seeming a little shell-shocked. With a smile, he walked towards her with a slight limp from his crash, and raised his arms, “You have bested Gregor!” He declared rather jovially.   
  
When he returned to the clearing, he gave Lyn a hearty thump on the back. “That was most beautiful! Graceful is your flight and bright your spirit! Gregor is honored to have fought with you.”  
  
Kurt declared Lyn the victor, and she returned to her companions still not quite sure how she had won.

* * *

 

“It’s rather nice to be battling someone who isn’t out for blood.” Kiran said as he strode to meet the Scyther.  
  
“Oh, I’ll say!” The large bug declared. “You have no idea how excited I am to see Ben lightening up a bit!”  
  
“Ben?”  
  
“Oh, you probably know him as Bugsy. Just an old nickname, his actual name is Ben.”  
  
Kiran looked at Bugsy, or rather Ben. He seemed a little more relaxed than before, no longer glancing about in distraction. He smiled. “Orthos does tend to have that effect on people. Now, Terrace, wasn’t it? Let’s get started.” He slammed his foot down, causing several round stones to shoot out of the ground.  
  
“With pleasure!” Terrace responded in challenge, brandishing his blades. Kurt started the match, and Kiran quickly launched a barrage of small rocks at Terrace, but none of them landed. At the last second, the Scyther had launched off the ground, putting himself over the incoming rocks. He began laughing as he flew back and forth.  
  
Kiran hurled a few small barrages to see how his foe would respond, trying to grasp his movements. His attacks were evaded, but not without revealing Terrace’s movement patterns. A series of quick attacks put him exactly where Kiran needed him to be. Confidently, he blasted a heavy barrage where he knew Terrace would be.  
  
Only...he wasn’t there. Kiran started, then turned around to block the counterattack he knew was coming, but he still couldn’t figure out how he’d moved so impossibly fast. True enough, Terrace was behind him, in spite of Kiran’s disbelief. He blocked the incoming blades, his mind still churning on how his foe had gotten around him so quickly.  
  
Terrace broke off, letting Kiran on the offensive once more, but in spite of his best efforts, Kiran could not land a single blow on the nimble Scyther, and soon enough he failed to keep up with his foe’s impossible speed, and found himself on the ground with a viciously sharp blade not far from his throat.   
  
Gasping for breath, Kiran raised his arms in surrender. Terrace stood proudly, basking in his victory. “That...that was...how in Hellfire did you move so fast?” Kiran gasped out.  
  
Terrace stood back and demonstrated with pride. Flying just above the ground, he swung his blades into the ground and shoved off, throwing himself forward at tremendous speed. Kiran sighed, frustrated at his loss but still impressed by Terrace’s ingenuity. “You dodgey little bastard…” He muttered with a slight smile.  
  
“Hardly an appropriate comment towards someone more than twice as tall as you.” Terrace retorted, “but thank you. I’ve had a lot of practice dodging things, something of a specialty, I’d say.” He walked back to Bugsy’s side, and Kiran returned to Orthos. “Little...heh.”

* * *

 

The final round was set to begin. Renthar stepped forward, boldly facing the delicate looking Butterfree in front of him. “I hope you’re ready for a fight unlike anything you’ve ever seen!” He declared.  
  
“Oh, is that so?” The Butterfree responded. “And I guess at some point you’re going to tell me your name?”  
  
“But of course! It would hardly do to so thoroughly defeat my opponent without having them know the name of RENTHAR!”  
  
“Well, Renthar, it's nice to meet you. I’m Tammy, by the way. Oh, and look at that, the match has started!” Tammy spoke calmly, releasing a cloud of yellow dust that she blew at Renthar.  
  
Renthar charged forward, directly into the cloud of dust. His muscles quickly locked up, causing him to trip and begin spasming on the ground. He fought for control of his muscles, forcing back the incessant spasms, and tried to get up, only to be suddenly struck by a colossal headache that forced him to the ground once again.   
  
“Well, this really is unlike anything I’ve ever seen!” Tammy laughed.  
  
Renthar tried to focus on something through the seething headache, but couldn’t think about anything other than the pain and the presence in his mind that was causing it. Unable to go elsewhere, he elected to turn to the source of his pain and seized upon the foreign force in his mind. He forced the presence out of his mind, leaving his opponent dazed and his mind clear.  
  
He stumbled forward, still struggling with the spasms from the stun spore, but still he moved well enough, and with a vengheance. He was about to strike the dazed Butterfree when a shrill, clear, discordant noise echoed through the forest.  
  
“Call off the match!” Bugsy shouted urgently.  
  
"What? What's wrong?" Orthos asked in surprise.  
  
"Someone's headed for the deepwood! For the Beedrill hive!"


	12. Truth

“What? The nest?” Orthos said as his eyes widened with surprise.  
  
“Yes! Some idiot’s headed right for it, if those calls are right.” Bugsy rambled as he fished out a whistle from his pockets. He blew on it, sounding a clear, and incredibly loud noise through the woods. Shortly, the same discordant noise that had interrupted their battle sounded from within the forest. “Yep, someone’s headed that way. Get back to town, I’m going to-”  
  
"Hold it, you, I'm helping." Orthos interrupted, unyielding. "You saved my life. I'm not just going to let you off without repaying the favor."  
  
Bugsy started to object, but knew Orthos would not listen. "Alright, my team will go ahead to the nest. They've more experience fighting Beedrill without getting poisoned. You intercept him, see if you can't stop him before he reaches the hive!" He tossed Orthos a small, carved wooden whistle. "Use that to signal me when you've found him!"  
  
They split, running full tilt through the thick woodland. Joshua flew ahead of Orthos, directing their pursuit, seemingly knowing exactly where to go, while Lyn flew alongside Orthos, and Riara following behind, the only other members of the team that could keep up  
  
He ran until his legs began to pound with pain as his body screamed for him to stop, and still he ran. He could not afford to stop.  
  
Not when lives were on the line.  
  
And so he ran, his vision beginning to blur from exhaustion. And still he ran, until at last he saw the blurred silhouette of a person.  
  
"STOP!" He wheezed as loud as he could, about to collapse. "There's a....*COUGH HACK*....beedrill...hive...gods, ow..."  
  
"Wait, you? What do you want with me?" The person said, still incredibly blurred by Orthos' exhaustion. But he knew the voice.  
  
"Silver?" He coughed out.  
  
"Wait...how do you know my name?" The boy's bright red hair was beginning to come into focus, as was the feral bird he had tied to a pole. The bird, a Murkrow, was absolutely frenzied, squawking furiously as it tried to fly towards the hive Orthos knew wasn’t far ahead.  
  
Orthos was beginning to catch his breath, but his legs were shaking and felt like they were on fire wherever they weren’t outright numb. "That's not important! You're about to walk right into a Beedrill nest!"  
  
Silver looked over his shoulder, where the crazed Murkrow was trying to fly. "Damn...I'm so close! I have to get in there!"  
  
"Don't you get it? If you go in there, you're going to die! It'd take a miracle to get you out of there alive!"  
  
Silver narrowed his gaze. "You're just trying to scare me off, aren't you?" He said coldly. "You're not going to keep me from doing this!"  
  
"Alright, if you won't let me save you peacefully, I'll do it by force! Joshua, put him to sleep so we can get this over with!" Joshua floated forward, and was met by the furiously squawking Murkrow. Orthos pulled out his dex and scanned the crazed bird. _dark type...bad for ghosts, best withdraw!_ Orthos pulled out Joshua's pokeball and began to withdraw him, but as the red light began to encompass him, the Murkrow hurled a black bolt of energy at Joshua. When it hit, the red light shifted to black, the feedback from the attack crawling up the beam until it reached the pokeball, shattering it in Orthos' hand.

Joshua's smile was replaced with shock. He began to dissipate. Then, his eyes began to glow with mysterious power, even as his form collapsed into nothing but dark purple mist, the last glimpse of his expression revealing the most serious, focused face he had ever shown.  
  
The mist did not dissipate. Instead, it flew at the Murkrow and surrounded it, beginning to glow. The bird froze, held aloft by the power, as the madness faded from its mind. All at once, the final remnant of Joshua burst apart in a light gust of wind, carrying a faint laugh as it passed.  
  
Time slowed.  
  
The world faded to grey.  
  
“We are not of this world.” An unheard, yet oddly familiar voice spoke as a whispy vision of Joshua formed in front of Orthos. It seemed to echo, as though far away.  
  
“Joshua? You can-” Orthos stammered in shock.  
  
“My power wanes quickly.” Joshua cut him off, his voice taking on a tone more serious than any Orthos had heard. “The Unknown in the Ruins of Alph said we don't belong, that we are not supposed to be here, and yet we are. You are here for a reason, and so long as you are ignorant of that purpose you are losing time. Go back to the ruins, there you might find more. You must find the truth!”  
  
“The ruins!? We nearly died there!”  
  
“All truths come with risks, and the greater they are the more the knowledge there is to find. You have to go back and find those truths before it’s too late!”  
  
“Too late? We don’t even know what the Hell we would be late for!”  
  
“Ignorance is more dangerous than anything you know. For it is out of the shadows that comes the knife that cuts the deepest.”  
  
Orthos went silent, biting back the fear he felt just thinking about those accursed ruins.  
  
“My power is nearly gone.” Joshua’s tone began to settle into remorse. “I...am sorry I cannot stay with you any longer. But this is where my path ends...no.” The remorse in Joshua’s eyes faded, replaced with the burning curiosity he always had. “This is time for my final journey…A great leap into the dark.”  
  
Joshua’s misty form began to fade away, even as his iconic laughter began to echo into silence.  
  
“...Goodbye…” Was all Orthos could think to say as his friend passed into the unknown.  
  
Time resumed.  
  
Orthos fell back into the world as though falling out of a tree, staggered and aching. He stared at the space where Joshua was just seconds ago. He felt the shattered remains of the pokeball in his hand. He felt the tears running down his face.  
  
He felt rage. Burning, agonizing, miserous rage.  
  
Silver staggered back in shock. Seeing the fury building in Orthos, he tried to reason with him. "I-wait-l-let's not be rash here, I didn't-"  
  
"Riara. Lyn. Try not to hurt him too badly." Orthos growled with wrath in his voice. "We wouldn't want to be uncivilized, would we?"  
  
Riara howled like a wrathful demon and charged at Silver. “YOU BASTARD! I’LL TEAR YOU AND YOU DAMN BIRD APART!” She howled as she leapt forth. Silver sent out his Bayleaf, who might have been able to fend off Riara if Lyn was not also fighting, swooping in from above even as she wept for the loss of her friend. She had no words, only the stifled mutterings of her twice broken heart.  
  
As they fought, the din of battle rang through the woods. Some of the wildlife fled. Others hid. But there were also those that heard the sound of battle and felt bloodlust. Crawling out of its den, a single Pokemon flew towards the clash, blind in its frenzy.  
  
They did not hear the buzzing over the sound of the brawl, which had grown to a massive brawl with all of Orthos’ and Silver’s Pokemon engaged in vicious battle. They did not see the rapidly descending Beedrill, being too focused on the battle, until it was too close to stop.  
  
"GET DOWN!" Orthos shouted at Silver, seeing the Beedrill about to strike.  
  
"What?" Silver exclaimed, looking behind him on instinct. He caught a glimpse of the angry insect, and tried to leap out of the way, but it was too late. It's stinger, dripping in venom, scratched his arm. Not a direct hit, but with the virulent toxins the barb carried, it was enough.  
  
Lyn broke off Silver's Bayleaf, swiftly and carefully bashing the Beedrill's head with the edge of her wing, hitting it with enough force to catapult it into the side of a tree some ten feet away, where it slammed to the ground, motionless.  
  
Silver began to feel woozy, the venom taking effect rapidly. Orthos snapped out of his rage and immediately set to trying to save the boy. Remembering his real mission, he blew on the whistle Bugsy had given him repeatedly, creating a panicked cacophony of sound that echoed through the woods. Then, he emptied his bag and rummaged for medicine while ringing up professor Elm.  
  
  
"Orthos?" The professor began.  
  
"I need treatment methods for a beedrill sting, and quickly. I've got an expert on the way, need preliminary first aid measures with limited supplies." Orthos spoke quickly and concisely, rather unlike him. He drew out a knife and cut off Silver’s sleeve to get at the wound.   
  
“Right, uh, start off by cleaning the wound. Do you have any antidotes?”  
  
Orthos called Renthar over to douse the wound. “What, like the Pokemon medicine? Yeah, I’ve got several here.”   
  
“Get that into him. Stuff's meant for Pokemon, but it should help delay the toxins a bit. He’s likely to end up with a mild allergic reaction to the antidote, make note of that.”  
  
Orthos quickly fished out one of his antidotes, auto-injecting syringes containing a cocktail of counter toxins, immunoboosters and antibiotics designed to ward off poison and infection in Pokemon. He removed the lid and jammed the needle into Silver’s arm a few inches from the wound. The antidote’s contents injected automatically, hopefully stemming the progress of the vile toxins already spreading through his body.  
  
“Alright, that’s done. Now what?” Orthos said after picking the phone back up.  
  
“Ah, let’s see, uh…” Elm rummaged through the mess on his desk, clamoring for the Pokedex he knew was in there somewhere. “Try to get his heart above the injury, if you can, that should help slow the spread of poison...there it is! Now, let’s see...Beedrill…”  
  
“Kiran! Renthar! Help me get him up! Ok, now what?”  
  
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like there’s much more you can do without a proper antivenom. How long until that expert of yours shows up?”  
  
Orthos looked about. “I don’t know...hopefully before-”  
  
Bugsy came dashing out of the woods, his Heracross close behind him. Before he could speak, Orthos was briefing him. "Minor cut from a Beedrill sting, I've done what first aid I can but he needs proper medical attention."   
  
"Gregor, get the kid and make for Pokemon center! They should have antivenom for it, but we don't have much time!" Bugsy ordered the Heracross, who quickly grabbed Silver and hurried off. Bugsy grabbed one of the many bug calls on his vest and sounded it, producing a high pitched clattering noise. "Come on, we need to get out of here! They're not far behind us!" He shouted at Orthos.  
  
They dashed back to town, praying that they could save Silver before it was too late.


	13. Resolve

Wind blew through the woods, carrying all the scents of its vibrant life, and to some, an air of solemn regret.  
  
Regret that no more could have been done, that what moments could have been had were now lost forever.  
  
It carried anger, rage at how another had been lost, and at those who had caused it.  
  
It carried loss. Loss of a friend. Loss of his insight, his intellect, and his ever present ubiquitous laughter.  
  
It carried the scent of incense, clutched in Lyn’s talons as she flew into the forest. She glided over the trees, gently riding the wind as she flew to the shrine where she had only been a couple days previously to remember Joshua.  
  
Landing carefully on the edge of the shrine, she shuffled the incense from her talon to her beak, and carefully placed it in the cup in the shrine. Dropping down, she looked at Joshua’s grave, set right next to Desmond’s.  
  
 _In memory of Joshua, who saw beyond us all. May he find his truth on his final journey_  
  
The ceremony was brief. Orthos told Joshua’s story, much as he had done with Desmond, but this time there were no declarations or fanfare at the close. Only a solemn silence as Orthos stared at the grave.  
  
Lyn sighed, looking up at the shrine. “Well, might as well get started.” She said under her breath. With a quick flap of her wings, she flew up to the top of the shrine and perched there, looking out towards the setting sun.  
  
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began to speak. “...If I heard Kurt right, this shrine is dedicated to a guardian of some kind. Well, I don’t know what kind of guardian you might be, but you’re the closest thing to a God that I know of...and I need...we all need...a little bit of help.” She went silent, feeling the evening breeze pass by. “Everyone’s in so much pain. Riara’s shutting everyone out, Kiran’s trying to drown his emotions with training, Renthar has barely said a word for days, and Orthos...Orthos...he spends every day inside the Pokemon Center, waiting for that boy to wake up. He looks so angry...I just don’t know what he’s going to do.” She sniffed back a welling tear.  
  
“And then there’s Jenn...I just wish he could have come into the world in a better time...a better place. That poor child...so lost and confused, born into the care of a bunch of broken mourners, none of whom can give him the care he needs.”  
  
“Not that Orthos hasn’t tried, but every time he sees the little guy, this look comes over him. He stops...then just runs off.” She looked down. “Maybe he’s just feeling what I think we all do. That we could never bear the burden of raising a child. Not after all that’s happened. Not after...after…”   
  
She broke down, openly crying until she felt she could speak once again. “Well, if you’re listening, you might be wondering what the point of me saying all this is. And to that I’m not really sure I can give an answer. Maybe I just needed to talk. Maybe I was hoping some otherworldly power would just make everything right again. Or...maybe..maybe I’m hoping that...somehow this might make a difference...so...if you’re listening, please...please help Orthos. Help Riara, Kiran, Renthar, they all need help and I just don’t know what to do…”  
  
Silently, she stared at the ground. The wind blew gently toward the East, where the final rays of sun were passing beneath the distant waves. “Help me...please, please help me…”

* * *

 

Alone, deep inside a massive tunnel, dark and empty save for the light cast by a dim torch. The torchbearer walked ever forward, deeper and deeper into the tunnel. His footsteps echoed through the corridor, the sound of firm leather against stone being the only sound beyond the crackle of the torch’s flame that could be heard.  
  
He walked on and on, never speaking, only walking relentlessly forward into the dark. Silence enveloped him with a crushing grasp, unrelenting as it swallowed every sound, and muffled every motion.  
  
Hours passed, and still he walked, until at last he came upon a larger chamber. He walked out into it, but it seemed as empty as the tunnel from which he had came.  
  
A low growling filled the air, rumbling deeply. Looking toward the source, he saw nothing but darkness. Fear filled his mind, driving him back toward the tunnel. Then, something emerged from the shadows.  
  
A massive green beast leapt forward, pinning him to the ground with one of its mighty clawed feet. He looked up, face to face with a dragon staring into his eyes with rage brimming beneath its own.

“Who are you, and why are you here?” It demanded with a deep, bellowing voice that dripped with power and wrath. “And choose your answer carefully...I do not take kindly to thieves...and even less to liars…”   
  
Orthos snapped awake.  
  
The same dream, again. Ever since...then...he had been having that same dream. Alone, walking through that tunnel. Only this was the first time the dragon had appeared. Every night before it was as though the shadows themselves leapt out at him, and then the dream, no, the nightmare, would end.  
  
Something about that dragon seemed familiar, though. Orthos wondered, searching for why he recognized the dragon, and rather suddenly it hit him. He dug through his pack and removed his notebook. Flipping through the pages, he found the drawings he had made nearly two weeks before after a vivid dream in Violet City. A dream where he saw the very same dragon, among many others. He found the drawing of the dragon from his dream and scribbled a note about his most recent dream.   
  
Satisfied with his note, he finally looked up. As usual, he was in the center, sitting across the room from the comatose Silver. Glancing out the window, it looked to be a bit past noon. Not exactly good, but with the thoughts clawing at his mind preventing sleep, and nightmares disturbing what little he was getting, it was little wonder his sleep schedule was so horrendously broken.  
  
Groaning, he forced himself out of the chair and left to get something to eat, and maybe wash up. Something about that last dream was more unsettling than all the last ones…

* * *

 

Silver woke in a daze, trying to piece together what had happened prior to his lapse in consciousness. _Something about that guy from Cherrygrove...there was a fight, then..._  
  
He couldn't put it together. What he did know was that his arm felt like it was on fire. The pain was excruciating beyond belief, and rising. He howled in pain, his vision beginning to blur. A moment later, he smelled something sweet, and drifted into sleep, the pain fading.

* * *

 

"My gods, it looks like he's actually waking up." A blurred voice spoke as he woke again. "Nurse! He's waking up!"  
  
Silver blinked, trying to clear his groggy vision. He was inside, somewhere bright. Somewhere clean.  
  
"Hoy. You actually up or are you gonna start screaming again?" Orthos asked from his chair across the small room.  
  
All Silver could think to do was mutter about the pain in his arm. “Damn my arm hurts…”  
  
“Well, you’re speaking, which is a marked improvement. Nurse! He’s up again, little more coherent this time around!” Orthos said with little emotion.  
  
A nurse came rushing to make sure Silver was alright, accompanied by Tammy, Bugsy’s Butterfree. She put a sizable ice pack on his arm, but otherwise didn’t do much in the way of treatment. Once she was confident Silver was alright, she left the room.  
  
A heavy silence filled the small room as Orthos glared at Silver. Finally, he spoke. “Did she give you any kind of painkiller?” He asked coldly.  
  
“Well, no, probably don’t have much left, so I guess that makes sense.” He responded.  
  
Orthos stood, walked to Silver’s bed, and proceeded to punch Silver with every scrap of power he had, nearly sending the much smaller boy sprawling off the bed.  
  
"Good." Orthos growled, his tone laced with a dark, foul wrath. "I wanted you to feel that."  
  
"GAH! Good Moltres above...was that really necessary right now?"

Orthos gave Silver the foulest look he had. "I figured in order to get it into your pathetically stupid, thick head how badly you screwed up I had to get you while it's fresh in your mind. Rather a lot like one has to do when berating children." Orthos turned and went to the door. As he was leaving, he said one final, stinging remark. "Though even a child would know not to try to control a Frenzied Pokemon."  
  
He slammed the door to the room with so much force it nearly broke, stomping off feeling little better than he had before.

* * *

 

It was three days before Silver would be well enough to leave, an even when he did he could barely feel his left arm through all the pain, and any attempts to move it were accompanied by constant shaking and more pain.  
  
He left the Pokemon Center against the recommendations of the nurse for more rest. Honestly, he agreed with her pleas to stay, but knew he couldn’t afford to wait any longer. He thanked her for treating him and walked out into Azalea.  
  
As much as he wished to just skip town and avoid confronting Orthos, he didn’t exactly have a choice, seeing as how Orthos had all of his Pokemon. Grudgingly, he walked towards the charcoal kilns at the South end of town. There, Orthos was operating the large bellows that blew into the fires within the kilns, raising them to incredible temperature. Renthar and Kiran were there as well, helping to work the bellows.  
  
He approached cautiously. "Uh, hey. Got all your punching out or am I about to get another black eye?" He said with a slight smile.  
  
Orthos kept pumping the bellows. "As much as I would love to beat you into the ground, it wouldn't change anything. It probably wouldn't even make me feel any better about losing Joshua. I just hope that you appreciate that in his last moment, he freed your Murkrow from the frenzy." Orthos looked down at his feet. "Maybe that's part of why I'm not going to attack you. Joshua's dying act was to save the one who killed him...he's a better soul than anyone here."  
  
Silver grimaced, shame creeping over him. "I...I'm sorry. But please believe me when I say that I had a reason for what I was doing."  
  
Orthos wiped the sweat building on his brow and grabbed Silver by the shoulder. “You are going to tell me who you are, what you were doing in the woods, why you had a frenzied Pokemon, where you're going, and where you came from. Maybe then I'll consider letting you have your Pokemon back." He then more or less dragged Silver to Kurt's house. Silver didn’t fight back. After all, Orthos was nearly a half foot taller than him, substantially heavier and had every reason to beat the living Hell out of him.  
  
With a fresh kettle of tea in front of them, Orthos began. "Two weeks ago to the day I found you in Cherrygrove in front of the town's wrecked gate. Three days later, you were in Violet city, at sprout tower. Which brings us to six days ago, when you showed up in Ilex, headed for a beedrill nest. That sound accurate?" Orthos read out of his notebook as he spoke, casually twirling his pencil as he did.  
  
"Uh, yeah." Silver responded. He was still surprised he'd been out that long. "Wait, you saw me in Violet?"  
  
"Yes. I caught the very end of your battle with that senile old man they   
refer to as a sage. You probably didn't notice me because Joshua - the Gastly - was masking my presence. Now, why were you in Cerrygrove?"  
  
"You know, I think I ought to just start with why I'm in Johto in the first place. Well, I, uh, heard that Team Rocket might have been behind the Frenzy."  
  
"Team Rocket?"  
  
Silver gave him an odd look. "You don’t know about them? They were the biggest crime syndicate on the continent until just a few years ago.”  
  
Orthos watched Silver carefully, jotting down notes every few seconds. “Amnesia will do that. Now, more about Team Rocket.”  
  
“They ran everything from smuggling rings to extortion rackets to outright mass theft of Pokemon. Extremely successful and practically impossible to break, with agents everywhere both undercover and out of it. All up until...something...caused the head of the organization to disband the entire thing out of nowhere.”  
  
Orthos noted the apprehension, bordering on fear, in Silver’s voice as he mentioned the event  
  
“So that should have been it, but someone’s been accessing their old networks, and by the look of it, whoever it is wanted to rebuild the Rocket Empire.”  
  
“How exactly do you know about this?” Orthos asked  
  
“I...well, my Dad was...he’s an ex-member of the Rockets.” Silver suddenly got a little flustered. Orthos made a note in his book.  
  
"Not too long after that news got out about the Frenzy here, and...I got a look at some of my Dad’s messages on his computer. Team Rocket moved into Johto only a few months before this all started. So, I got a Pokemon and left for Johto. With the train and ferries down I came in through the mountains, and arrived somewhere west of New Bark. I went off to Cherrygrove, and that's where we fought."  
  
"Yes. Now, do explain why you broke down the barricade."  
  
"Ugh...look, it's not a moment I'm proud of. I'd been trekking for more than a week and hadn't eaten anything for days. I was frustrated and impatient."  
  
"So, chalk it up to a case of you being an Gods forsaken idiot."  
  
"I suppose you could put it that way. Kind of makes me wonder how things might have turned out if I'd been thinking clearly.”  
  
Orthos looked over his notes. “I suppose at this point it’s safe to assume you were after the same thing I was in the Forest. The Emitter.”  
  
“Yes. I managed to extract some information out of the Rocket’s network, and evidently Frenzied Pokemon are often drawn to the source of the signal. So, I...well, I caught a frenzied Murkrow, and…”  
  
Silence fell over the table. Orthos stared at Silver, whose gaze was locked downward in shame. Minutes passed, until finally Orthos stood and turned to leave. As he did, he tossed a bag at Silver. “Here. No sense in taking away your friends.” Out of the bag tumbled a collection of Pokeballs, all with a small white device attached to them. “I’m leaving tomorrow for Goldenrod. Make of that what you will.”  
  
With that, he walked out to prepare for his journey through the forest.

* * *

 

Shortly after dawn the next day, Orthos stood with his party at the Ilex gatehouse, saying their final farewells to Kurt and the townsfolk, and to the infant Togepi, Jenn, who had hatched only a few days before.  
  
Kurt didn’t have too many words for Orthos. He made some comment about Orthos’ restless spirit, and handed him a crudely wrapped package. “Here. A traveller like you could use a pair of these.” He said with a peaceful smile. Orthos unwrapped the package, revealing a pair of worn, sturdy leather boots, Looking at his shoes, which were rapidly falling apart after all that had happened. All that travelling, all those adventures. Without a word, he tossed aside the tattered sneakers and slipped on the boots. To his surprise, they fit rather well. They felt comfortable, much as his coat did, making him feel safer somehow. “So, how do they fit? Can’t say that I’m much of a cobbler, but I think I modified them well enough to fit.”  
  
Orthos stood, testing out the feel of the boots. “They fit great.” He said quietly. Then, he shook his head, turned to Kurt, and spoke right out of heart. “Thank you...thank you so much. For the boots, and for helping me...cope.”  
  
Kurt placed his hand on Orthos’ shoulder. “My boy, I can tell you don’t think it right now, but believe me, you have the makings of a great man. The things you’ve done here have been nothing short of miraculous. Helping you through your loss was the least I could do.”  
  
Orthos nodded slowly. He turned to Bugsy, who was standing next to the gate, his Scyther by his side. Bugsy smiled, and tossed him a small wrapped package. Inside, he found one of Bugsy’s wooden bug calls, a paper with a phone number scrawled on it, and a small, gleaming emblem in the shape of a beetle. He looked up at Bugsy, and smiled just a little bit.  
  
“Give me a call next time you think about doing something stupid.” The gym leader jabbed in a mocking tone.  
  
Orthos nodded, thanked him, and headed into the forest.

* * *

 

Silver rushed up the path, his pack crammed full of supplies. Evidently when Orthos said tomorrow he meant at dawn, something that Silver hadn’t exactly been told. His Bayleaf ran beside him, constantly watching Silver with concerned eyes.  
  
It didn’t take them long to find Orthos, who stood with all his companions in front of the shrine where two polished stones stood vigilant. Silver read the stones, and immediately understood. He stood off to the side, trying to understand what was going through Orthos’ mind.  
  
After some time, Orthos took a deep breath, and spoke, with firm, grim, uncompromising conviction.  
  
“Never. Again.”

* * *

 

Wind blew through the woods, carrying with it many things. The scents of life and struggle, of joy and sorrow. It carried regret. Anger. Loss. But as it passed Orthos and Silver as they trekked Northward, it carried something more: Resolve.   
  
Resolve to honor the fallen. Resolve to never see another friend lost. Resolve to be stronger.  
  
Resolve to change the world.


End file.
